JOHN  WILLIAM  PYE 
LIBRARY  OF 


TICKNOR  AND  FIELDS 


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I 


There  was  a  good  place  for  the  cattle  and  horses  to  drink,  by  the  side  of  the  bridge.'7  Page  10T 


J  O  N  A  S 


0  N  A  F  A  R 


IK 


SUMMER 


BY  THE 


AUTHOR  OF  THE  HOLLO  BOOKS. 


BOSTON: 

WILLIAM  D.  TICK  NOR  A  CO. 

18  4  5. 


ENTERED  ACCORDING  TO  ACT  OF  CONGRESS,  IN  THE  YEAR  1841,  BY 
T.  H.  CARTER,  IN  THE  CLERK’S  OFFICE  OF  THE  DISTRICT  COURT 
CF  MASSACHUSETTS 


STEREOTYPED  AT  THE 
BOSTON  TYPE  AND  STEREOT/PE  FOUNDRY 


PREFACE. 


This  little  work,  with  its  companion, 
Jonas  on  a  Farm  in  Winter,  is  in¬ 
tended  as  the  continuation  of  a  series, 
the  first  two  volumes  of  which,  Jonas’s 
Stories  and  Jonas  a  Judge,  have  al¬ 
ready  been  published.  They  are  all  de¬ 
signed,  not  merely  to  interest  and  amuse 
the  juvenile  reader,  but  to  give  him  in¬ 
struction,  by  exemplifying  the  principles 
of  honest  integrity,  and  plain  practical 
good  sense,  in  their  application  to  the 
ordinary  circumstances  of  childhood. 


1  * 


' 


CONTENTS 


Planning, .  . 

CHAPTER  1. 

Good  by,  Rollo, 

CHAPTER  11. 

Josey, . 

CHAPTER  111. 

Clearing  Land,. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

CHAPTER  V. 

Josey’s  Promises, . 76 


Surgery, . 

CHAPTER  VI. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Mountains, 


100 


10 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  VIII.  Page. 

The  Chase, .  1^0 

CHAPTER  IX. 

The  Holiday, .  1^® 

CHAPTER  X. 

The  Sail, .  147 

CHAPTER  XL 

The  Gray  Squirrel, .  163 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PLANNING. 

When  Jonas  was  about  sixteen  years  of 
age,  Rollo’s  father  sent  for  him,  one  evening, 
to  come  into  his  study ;  for  he  said  that  he 
wanted  to  have  some  conversation  with  him. 
This  study  was  a  little  room,  where  Rollo’s 
father  kept  his  books  and  papers,  and  where 
he  used  sometimes  to  read  and  write.  There 
was  a  table,  with  one  side  inclined  like  a 
desk,  and  a  chair  behind  it,  where  Mr.  Hol¬ 
iday  used  to  sit ;  and  there  Avas  other  furni¬ 
ture,  particularly  book-shelves,  about  the 
room,  and  maps  and  pictures  against  the 
Avail. 

When  Jonas  came  in,  Mr.  Holiday  asked 
him  to  sit  down.  So  Jonas  sat  doAvn  in  a 
chair,  which  Avas  not  very  far  from  the  door, 


12 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUM.MER, 


nearly  opposite  to  the  table  where  Mr.  Hol¬ 
iday  was  sitting. 

When  Jonas  was  seated,  Rollo’s  father 
commenced  the  conversation  as  follows  :  — 

“  I  have  often  heard  you  say,  Jonas,  that 
you  intended  to  be  a  farmer.” 

“  Yes,  sir,”  replied  Jonas. 

“  If  that  is  your  serious  and  settled  plan, 
it  is  time  to  do  something  towards  carrying 
it  into  effect.” 

Jonas  made  no  reply  to  this  remark,  but 
his  countenance  assumed  a  very  thoughtful 
expression. 

“  You  are  now,”  continued  Rollo’s  father, 
“  about  sixteen  years  of  age,  — are  you  not  ?  ” 

“  Yes,  sir,”  said  Jonas,  “I  think  it  proba¬ 
ble.” 

“  O,  we  don’t  know,  I  believe,  exactly 
how  old  you  are.” 

“  No,  sir,”  said  Jonas.  “You  remember 
that,  when  you  found  me  sitting  on  a  log,  by 
the  side  of  the  road,  I  scarcely  knew  any 
thing  at  all.” 

“  Except  how  to  catch  butterflies,”  said 
Rollo’s  father. 

A  faint  smile  spread  itself  over  Jonas’s 
face  at  this  allusion.  But  it  was  very  faint, 


PLANNING. 


13 


and  it  soon  disappeared.  His  mind  was  too 
full  of  serious  thoughts  respecting  his  past 
history,  and  the  possibility  that  the  time 
would  soon  come  when  he  would  have  to 
leave  Mr.  Holiday’s  family,  to  admit  of  his 
being  amused. 

“  You  must  be  about  sixteen  or  seventeen,” 
continued  Mr.  Holiday;  “and  whatever  yonr 
future  occupation  is  going  to  be,  it  is  time 
for  you  to  begin  to  pay  some  attention  to  it. 
The  art  of  farming,  like  all  other  arts,  has  to 
be  learned.” 

“  I  thought,”  replied  Jonas,  “  that  I  should 
learn  something  of  farming  here.” 

“Yes,”  replied  Mr.  Holiday,  “you  raise 
me  some  corn,  and  grain,  and  clover  ;  and  you 
do  it  very  well.  But  cultivating  a  few  acres 
with  your  own  hands,  is  a  very  different 
thing  from  managing  a  large  farm,  with  a 
great  stock  of  cattle,  and  hired  men.  If  you 
are  a  farmer  at  all,  I  want  you  to  be  a  suc¬ 
cessful  one,  and  to  be  qualified  to  conduct 
your  business  on  an  extended  scale,  if  cir¬ 
cumstances  should  hereafter  open  the  way 
for  it.  Now,  in  order  to  do  this,  you  ought 
to  spend  some  years  upon  a  large  and  well- 
2 


14 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


managed  farm,  in  order  to  acquire  a  practical 
experience  of  the  details.” 

Jonas  could  not  deny  that  this  was  per¬ 
fectly  correct ;  but  he  was  unwilling  to  think 
of  leaving  his  home,  to  go  among  strangers, 
and  to  begin  the  world  anew.  He  was  there- 
'  fore  silent. 

“  And  now,”  continued  Mr.  Holiday,  “  1 
should  like  to  have  you  think  of  this  subject, 
and  let  me  know  as  soon  as  you  decide. 
Whatever  business  you  conclude  to  follow, 
I  will  do  what  I  can  to  help  you  to  prepare 
for  it.” 

“I  have  thought  of  the  subject,  a  great 
deal,”  said  Jonas. 

“  And  have  you  fully  made  up  your 
mind  ?  ”  asked  Mr.  Holiday. 

“  Yes,  sir,”  replied  Jonas.  “  It  seems  to  me 
that  it  will  be  best  for  me  to  be  a  farmer.” 

“Well,”  replied  Mr.  Holiday,  “you  have 
sufficient  age  and  discretion  to  decide  for 
yourself;  but  why  is  it  that  you  prefer  farm¬ 
ing  to  all  other  pursuits  ?  ” 

“  Why,  in  the  first  place,”  said  Jonas,  “  I 
like  a  farm.  I  should  rather  have  one  for 
my  own,  than  to  have  any  thing  else.  And 


PLANNING. 


15 


then,  besides,  a  farmer  doesn’t  have  so  much 
to  do  with  other  people.” 

“  Not  so  much  to  do  with  other  people  ?  ” 
replied  Mr.  Holiday.  He  didn’t  exactly  un¬ 
derstand  what  Jonas  meant. 

“  No,  sir  ;  he  manages  his  farm  his  own 
way,  and  nobody  has  any  thing  to  do  with 
him.  I  don’t  want  to  have  a  great  many 
dealings  with  other  people.” 

“  Why  not  ?  ”  said  Mr.  Holiday. 

“  I  don’t  know,  sir,  exactly  why,”  replied 
Jonas.  u  People  seem  to  be  always  finding 
fault  with  lawyers,  and  physicians,  and  shoe¬ 
makers,  and  other  such  persons  as  work  for 
every  body  ;  and  so  I  think  I  had  rather 
work  for  myself.” 

Mr.  Holiday  smiled. 

“  Besides,”  continued  Jonas,  “I  like  ani¬ 
mals,  and  I  should  have  some  if  I  had  a 
farm,” 

Here  there  was  another  short  pause,  after 
which  Mr.  Holiday  added,  — 

“  Well,  Jonas,  you  must  decide  for  your¬ 
self;  and  I  am  by  no  means  certain  that 
your  philosophy  is  not  correct  about  it.  And 
if  your  mind  is  really  made  up,  why,  we 


16 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


had  better  begin  to  consider  what  steps  to 
take.” 

“I  believe  it  is,  sir,”  said  Jonas,  “  only  1 
don’t  know  how  I  shall  ever  get  a  farm.” 

“  O,  I  think  yon  can  manage  that.  You 
will  not  want  one  until  you  are  one  or  two 
and  twenty  ;  and  by  that  time,  if  you  are  in¬ 
dustrious  and  economical,  you  will  have 
some  money.” 

“  Not  enough  to  buy  a  farm,”  said  Jonas. 

“  No,  not  enough  to  pay  for  it  wholly,” 
said  Mr.  Holiday  ;  “but  you  can  pay  a  part. 
A  farm  may  always  be  bought  by  paying  a 
part.” 

“  How  much  ?  ”  asked  Jonas. 

“  Why,  one  third,  perhaps,  of  the  purchase 
money.  If  a  farm  was  worth  fifteen  hun¬ 
dred  dollars,  you  would  have  to  pay  at  first, 
perhaps,  five  hundred.” 

“  I  don’t  think  I  could  get  so  much  as 
that,”  said  Jonas,  “  by  the  time  I  am  twenty- 
one.” 

“Yes,”  replied  Mr.  Holiday.  “I  think 
you  might,  perhaps,  even  if  you  were  to  be¬ 
gin  now.  You  might  have,  probably,  four¬ 
teen  dollars  a  month,  at  a  farmer’s.  Out  of 


PLANNING. 


17 


this,  you  will  have  to  pay  for  your  clothes, 
•which  might,  perhaps,  be  fifty  dollars  a  year. 
So  that  you  might  lay  up  one  hundred  a 
year,  which  will  be  five  hundred  in  the  five 
years  which  will  intervene  before  you  are 
twenty-one,  not  including  interest.” 

“  Would  there  be  any  interest?”  said 
Jonas. 

“Yes,”  replied  Mr.  Holiday.  “The  in¬ 
terest  on  one  hundred  dollars  for  one  year,  is 
six  dollars  ;  so  that  the  one  hundred  dollars 
you  should  receive  for  the  first  year’s  wages, 
would  be  on  interest  four  years,  and  that 
would  make  twenty-four  dollars.  The 
second  would  have  three  years’  interest,  and 
so  on.  Thus  the  interest  would  be  a  consid¬ 
erable  addition,  perhaps  nearly  fifty  dollars. 

“  Then,  besides,”  continued  Mr.  Holiday, 
“you  have  accumulated  a  considerable 
amount  already.” 

Here  Jonas  looked  up  towards  Mr.  Holi¬ 
day,  with  an  expression  of  surprise  upon  his 
countenance.  He  did  not  understand  what 
he  meant. 

“  The  first  year  that  you  lived  with  me,” 
continued  Mr.  Holiday,  “  I  considered  that 
you  did  not  earn  more  than  your  support. 

2* 


18 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


But,  after  that  time,  you  made  yourself  so 
useful,  that  I  thought  you  earned  more  than 
your  support,  and,  at  the  end  of  the  year,  I 
gave  you  credit  upon  my  books  for  what  I 
thought  you  had  earned,  over  and  above 
your  food  and  clothing.” 

“  How  much  was  it,  sir  ?  ”  said  Jonas. 

Here  Mr.  Holiday  rose  from  his  chair,  and 
opened  a  mahogany  case,  which  stood  by 
the  side  of  the  fireplace,  and  took  out  a 
book  pretty  large  and  thick,  and  curiously 
bound.  He  opened  to  a  place  in  this  book, 
which  he  found  after  a  little  turning  over  of 
the  leaves,  and  said,  as  if  talking  to  himself,  — 
Jonas  :  — creditor  ;  wages  at  two  dollars 
a  month,  twenty-four  dollars.” 

Then,  looking  up,  and  addressing  Jonas,  he 
added,  “  It  was  twenty-four  dollars  the  second 
year.  The  third  year,”  he  continued,  again 
referring  to  his  leger,  “  I  have  credited  you 
with  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  a  month, 
making  thirty :  and  also  with  interest  on 
what  was  due  the  year  before,  one  dollar 
forty-four  cents ;  total,  thirty-one,  forty-four. 
And  so  it  goes  on,  increasing  gradually,  till 
the  present  time  ;  and  the  whole  amount 


19 


PLANNING. 

Here  Mr.  Holiday  took  up  a  small  piece  of 
paper  from  his  table,  and  laid  it  upon  the 
page  of  his  leger,  which  contained  Jonas’s 
account,  and  footed  up  the  column. 

“It  amounts,”  said  he,  when  he  had  fin¬ 
ished  the  addition,  “to  a  little  over  two  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty  dollars.” 

Jonas  was  astonished.  He  had  never  had 
the  remotest  idea  that  he  was  going  to  re¬ 
ceive  any  compensation  for  his  services,  other 
than  the  food  and  clothing,  and  comfortable 
home,  which  he  had  enjoyed.  He  sat  still, 
however,  and  did  not  say  a  word. 

“  I  have  never  explained  this  to  you  be¬ 
fore,”  continued  Mr.  Holiday,  “  because  the 
knowledge  of  it  would  have  been  of  no  ser¬ 
vice  to  you  ;  and,  besides,  you  have  not  been 
old  enough  to  appreciate,  very  fully,  the 
business  aspect  of  the  relation  subsisting  be¬ 
tween  you  and  me.  And  now,  as  to  this 
money,  you  understand  that  you  do  not  come 
into  possession  of  it  until  you  are  twenty- 
one.  That  is  the  age,  fixed  by  the  laws  of 
the  land,  when  every  young  man  comes  into 
possession  of  his  liberty  and  property  •  before 
that  time,  he  is  under  the  command,  and  his 


20 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


property  is  in  the  keeping,  of  his  father  ;  or,  if 
he  has  no  father,  of  his  guardian. 

u  Yery  soon  after  yon  came  into  my  fam¬ 
ily,”  said  Mr.  Holiday,  ‘-'I  took  measures  to 
be  appointed  your  legal  guardian,  so  that,  by 
the  law  of  the  land,  I  am  the  trustee  of  all 
that  you  possess,  or  that  you  will  earn  until 
you  are  twenty-one  ;  and  then  it  will  become 
my  duty  to  surrender  it  to  you.  Before  that 
time,  I  cannot  do  it  without  a  breach  of  trust. 

u  But,  although  I  did  not  tell  you  that  I 
was  intending  to  pay  you  wages,  I  yet  regu¬ 
larly  entered  it  in  my  books  to  your  credit, 
so  that  it  has  been  as  well  secured  to  you,  by 
this  means,  as  it  could  have  been.  For,  in 
case  of  my  death,  my  executors  would  have 
found  the  estate  charged  with  this  amount, 
and  when  you.  should  become  of  age,  they 
would  have  paid  you  the  money.” 

Jonas  didn’t  understand,  very  well,  pre¬ 
cisely  what  Mr.  Holiday  meant  by  his  ex¬ 
ecutors,  and  by  his  estate  being  charged  ;  but 
the  general  idea  intended,  namely,  that  Mr. 
Holiday  had  taken  effectual  precaution  to 
secure  to  him  the  payment  of  his  wages  in 
any  event,  he  comprehended  fully. 


PLANNING. 


21 


“  And  it  will  be  my  duty  also,”  resumed 
Mr.  Holiday,  “  to  receive,  and  to  take  charge 
of,  all  the  remaining  wages  you  may  make, 
from  this  time  until  you  are  twenty-one.  If 
you  were  to  continue  with  me,  I  should  go 
on  charging  myself  every  year,  as  I  have 
done.  If  you  go  to  a  farmer’s,  I  shall  con¬ 
tract  with  him  for  your  wages,  and  receive 
the  money.  Then,  when  you  are  twenty- 
one,  the  whole  amount  will  be  at  your  dis¬ 
posal.  It  will  probably  be  more  than  five 
hundred  dollars.” 

“  I  didn’t  know,  sir,”  said  Jonas,  after  a 
moment’s  pause,  “  that  it  was  possible  for  a 
boy  to  earn  so  much  money,  before  he  is 
twenty-one.” 

u  They  do  not,  commonly,”  replied  Mr. 
Holiday.  u  A  very  frequent  arrangement 
made  by  farmers  in  this  country,  is  to  take  a 
boy  at  the  age  when  you  came  into  my 
house,  and  take  care  of  him ;  let  him  work 
for  them  until  he  is  twenty-one,  and  agree  to 
give  him,  then,  a  freedom  suit  and  a  hundred 
dollars.” 

“  A  freedom  suit  ?  ”  repeated  Jonas. 

u  Yes  j  a  suit  of  clothes,  given  when  he  is 


22 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


of  age,  and  acquires  his  freedom,  —  which  is 
called  a  freedom  suit.” 

u  And  a  hundred  dollars  besides  ?  ” 
u  Yes,”  replied  Mr.  Holiday. 
u  Why,  then,”  rejoined  Jonas,  u  should  I 
have  any  more  ?  ” 

u  There  are  several  reasons  which  com¬ 
bine  to  produce  a  different  result  in  your 
case,”  said  Rollo’s  father.  u  When  a  farmer 
takes  a  boy  to  bring  up,  in  agreeing  to  pay 
him  one  hundred  dollars  when  he  becomes 
of  age,  he  takes  into  the  account  certain  risks 
and  dangers  which  you  have  escaped.  He 
must  consider,  for  example,  that  the  boy  may 
be  sick,  and  so  become  a  burden  of  ex¬ 
pense  and  care  to  his  master.  Or  he  may 
prove  idle  or  vicious.  Then,  again,  boys  are 
commonly  taken,  in  such  cases,  when  they 
are  younger  than  you  were,  and  for  several 
years  they  are  able  to  earn  little  or  nothing. 
But  you  began  to  make  yourself  very  useful 
almost  immediately.  At  any  rate,  I  have 
kept  a  careful  account,  and  I  have  not  given 
you  credit  for  any  more  earnings  yearly,  than 
I  have  supposed  that  you  fairly  made.  So 
that  there  is  a  great  probability,  that  by  the 


PLANNING. 


23 


time  you  are  twenty-two  or  three,  you  will 
have  funds  sufficient  to  enable  you  to  pay 
down  the  advance  of  purchase  money  neces¬ 
sary  to  buy  you  a  moderate  farm. 

“  And  now,”  continued  Mr.  Holiday, 
“  this  being  the  state  of  the  case,  I  think  that 
if  you  really  intend  to  become  a  farmer,  it  is 
time  for  you  to  begin  to  acquire  some  knowl¬ 
edge  of  farming  ;  and  the  best  way  to  do  that 
will  be  to  go  and  live  with  some  practical 
farmer,  who  carries  on  the  business  success¬ 
fully,  and  on  an  extensive  scale  v 

u  I  shall  be  very  sorry  to  go  away  from 
here,”  said  Jonas. 

“We  shall  all  be  very  sorry  to  lose  you,” 
replied  Mr.  Holiday  :  “  but  that  we  cannot 
help  without  sacrificing  your  future  welfare. 
I  have  no  doubt  but  that  the  change  will 
be,  in  many  respects,  a  painful  one  to  you ; 
but,  when  it  is  once  made,  you  will  find,  in  a 
new  situation,  as  great  a  variety  of  pleasant 
duties,  and  of  enjoyments,  as  in  this.  If, 
therefore,  you  wish  to  have  me  do  it,  I  will 
immediately  begin  to  make  some  inquiry  for 
you.  The  first  of  April,  which  comes  now 
in  about  a  month,  will  be  a  very  good  time 
for  you  to  commence  your  engagement  upon 
a  farm.” 


24 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


Jonas  did  not  reply  to  this,  but  looked 
down,  turning  his  face  a  little  away.  Mr. 
Holiday  observed  a  rapid  motion  of  the  eye¬ 
lid  which  was  nearest  to  him,  and  other  in¬ 
dications,  which  signified  to  him,  that  the 
idea  of  leaving  the  home  where  he  had  been 
so  long  and  so  kindly  entertained,  was  ma¬ 
king  a  very  deep  impression  upon  Jonas’s 
mind.  So  he  closed  the  conversation  by 
saying,  _ 

“  Well,  Jonas,  I  will  make  some  inquiries 
for  you ;  but,  at  any  rate,  we  will  not  decide 
upon  any  thing  positively,  until  I  talk  with 
you  again  about  it.” 

“Yes,  sir,”  said  Jonas;  and  he  rose  and 
took  his  hat,  turning,  with  averted  face,  to¬ 
wards  the  door. 

“  And,  Jonas,”  continued  Mr.  Holiday,  “  I 
should  like  to  have  you  give  the  white  horse 
some  oats,  early  to-morrow  morning,  for  I  am 
going  to  send  you  and  Rollo  away  with  him 
in  the  sleigh,  soon  after  breakfast.” 

“Yes,  sir,”  said  Jonas,  hastily;  and  then, 
without  turning  around  again,  to  look  to¬ 
wards  Mr.  Holiday,  he  left  the  room. 


25 


CHAPTER  II. 

GOOD  BY,  HOLLO. 

In  consequence  of  this  conversation,  Mr. 
Holiday  found  a  place  for  Jonas  upon  a  farm, 
situated  about  fifty  miles  from  the  place 
where  Mr.  Holiday  resided  ;  but  he  didn’t 
make  the  arrangement  quite  so  soon  as  he 
had  expected,  so  that  it  was  the  last  part  of 
April  before  Jonas  was  ready  to  go.  Rollo 
asked  his  father  how  Jonas  was  going. 

“  I  am  afraid  that  he  will  have  to  walk,” 
said  his  father. 

u  Why  not  let  him  ride  in  your  wagon  ?  ” 
asked  Rollo. 

u  Then  how  should  we  get  the  wagon 
back  ?  ”  replied  his  father. 

Rollo  did  not  answer.  This  was  a  dif¬ 
ficulty  which  he  had  not  thought  of. 

“  I  don’t  know,”  he  said,  at  length,  “  unless 
I  go  and  drive  it  back.” 

“  You  might  go  part  of  the  way,”  said  his 
father.  “  I  didn’t  think  of  that  plan.  I 
3 


26  JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER* 

might  let  you  go  as  far  as  you  can  go  in 
one  day,  and  then  you  come  back  the  next 
day,  while  Jonas  goes  on.” 

“  Well,  sir,”  said  Rollo,  11  but  why  camt 
I  go  the  whole  way  ?  We  can  go  fifty  miles 
in  a  day.” 

j 

“That  is  rather  too  far, — -to  go  fifty 
miles  one  day,  and  back  the  next ;  but  you 
might  go  forty  miles.” 

This  arrangement  was  made.  Jonas  put 
his  clothes,  his  books,  and  papers,  and  some 
other  items  of  property,  which  he  had  grad¬ 
ually  accpiired,  into  a  chest,  and  placed  this 
in  the  back  part  of  the  wagon,  on  the  evening 
before  he  was  to  leave.  Then  he  went  with 
Rollo,  to  take  a  walk  about  the  garden,  and 
into  the  field  behind  it,  and  thence  down  to 
the  brook.  lie  wanted  to  take  a  last  look  at 
the  scenes  which  he  had  been  familiar  with 
so  long. 

He  stopped  upon  the  bank  of  the  brook, 
near  the  fording-place,  which  he  had  made, 
and  where  he  had  so  often  crossed  the  stream 
with  his  cart ;  and,  taking  his  jackknife  out  of 
his  pocket,  he  began  to  look  around  among 
the  young  trees  and  bushes,  which  were  grow¬ 
ing  thick  there  upon  each  side  of  the  stream. 


GOOD  BY,  ROLLO. 


27 


“  What  are  you  looking  for  ?  ”  said  Rollo. 

“  A  cane,”  said  Jonas. 

“A  cane!”  said  Rollo;  “  what  do  you 
want  of  a  cane  ?  ” 

11  Why,  I  have  got  to  walk  ten  miles  day 
after  to-morrow,  and  don’t  you  think  it  will 
be  a  good  plan  for  me  to  have  a  cane  ?  ” 

Rollo  began  to  look  about,  to  help  Jonas 
find  a  suitable  stick  for  a  cane  ;  but  for  some 
time  without  success.  Rollo  found  several, 
which  he  thought  would  do,  —  as  they  ap¬ 
peared  very  straight  while  they  were  grow¬ 
ing  ;  but  when  he  had  cut  them  off,  he  found 
that  they  were  crooked. 

“  Jonas,”  said  Rollo,  at  length,  “  I’ll  tell 
you  what  will  be  a  better  plan.  We  can 
find  a  cane  for  you  to-morrow,  when  we  are 
riding,  somewhere  on  our  journey.” 

“No,”  said  Jonas,  “I  want  one  which 
grew  here.” 

Rollo  did  not  see  why  a  cane  was  any 
better  for  growing  in  one  place,  rather  than 
another ;  however,  as  Jonas  seemed  to  prefer 
to  find  one  there,  he  thought  that  he  would 
help  him.  So  he  continued  to  look  around. 
At  length  he  called  out,  — 


28 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


“  O  Jonas,  Jonas,  come  here  !  Here  is  a 
capital  one,  I  believe.  It  is  very  straight.75 

“  Well,”  said  Jonas,  in  an  indifferent  tone, 
—  “  presently.” 

“Come  now”  said  Rollo;  “I  know  you 
will  like  this.55 

Jonas  came  slowly  along,  looking  care¬ 
fully  upon  each  side  of  him  as  he  advanced  ; 
for,  as  Rollo  had  been  mistaken  so  frequently 
before,  he  had  little  expectation  that  he  had 
found  any  thing  extraordinary.  However, 
when  he  came  to  where  Rollo  was  standing, 
and  looked  at  the  tall  and  slender  little  tree, 
which  Rollo  pointed  at,  he  said,  — 

“  That  is  a  splendid  little  tree  indeed,  — 
straight  as  an  arrow.  And  it  is  an  oak,  too.55 

“  Oak  ! 55  repeated  Rollo. 

“Yes,55  said  Jonas,  “and  white  oak; 
which  is  the  very  best  wood  of  all  for  a 
cane.  Jonas  cut  it  off  near  the  root,  and  then 
made  it  of  the  proper  length,  by  trimming 
off  the  top.  He  said  it  was  just  such  a  stick 
as  he  wanted,  and  that  he  should  prize  it  so 
much  the  more,  because  Rollo  found  it. 

“  I  mean  to  keep  it  a  great  many  years, 5; 
said  he,  “and  call  it  my  Rollo  cane.55 


GOOD  BY.  ROLLO. 

J 


29 


“  Well,”  said  Rollo. 

“  When  I  go  after  the  cows,  on  the  farm 
where  I  am  going,  I  shall  take  it  with  me.” 

“  Yes,”  said  Rollo,  11  so  you  can.” 

li  And  always  when  I  am  travelling  on 
foot  from  place  to  place ;  so  that  your  cane 
will  help  me  along  in  the  world  a  great  deal, 
perhaps.” 

Jonas  took  his  cane  up  to  the  shop-room, 
in  the  barn,  and  there,  in  a  box  of  old  iron 
remnants,  he  found  a  small,  flat  ring,  just  big 
enough  to  go  round  the  foot  of  his  cane  for 
a  ferule,  to  preserve  the  end  from  being 
bruised  and  battered.  He  also  smoothed  the 
upper  end  with  files  and  sand-paper,  and 
then  stained  it  a  jet  black,  by  means  of  a 
dye  which  he  had.  He  then  varnished  it  all 
over  carefully  from  top  to  bottom.  The 
varnish  gave  a  handsome  color  to  the  bark, 
and  it  made  the  upper  end,  which  had  been 
dyed,  of  a  fine,  glossy  black,  like  polished 
ebony,  —  so  that  it  was  really  quite  a  hand¬ 
some  cane.  When  it  was  finished,  he 
wedged  it  in,  at  the  front  part  of  the  wagon, 
in  such  a  way  that  it  would  not  shake  about, 
and  where  nothing  would  touch  it ;  and 


30 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


there  he  said  it  might  dry,  while  they  were 
riding  the  next  day. 

They  set  out  early  in  the  morning,  and 
rode  all  day.  The  country  was  quite  green, 
and  Iloilo  found  the  ride  very  pleasant. 
Jonas  was  a  little  sad  and  sorrowful,  the  first 
part  of  the  way ;  but  he  gradually  recovered 
his'  spirits.  In  fact,  his  thoughts  were  divi¬ 
ded  between  sad  recollections  of  his  past  life, 
and  of  occupations  and  enjoyments,  now 
gone  never  to  return,  on  the  one  hand,  and, 
on  the  other,  anticipations  of  the  future,  and 
curious  interest,  as  to  what  sort  of  scenes, 
and  what  sort  of  employments,  awaited  him 
in  his  new  home.  About  eight  o’clock  in 
the  evening,  they  reached  the  tavern  where 
they  were  to  spend  the  night. 

Here  Jonas  left  his  chest,  intending  to  ask 
the  farmer  to  let  him  come  for  it  some  day 
in  his  wagon.  He  and  Rollo  spent  the  night 
here,  and  the  next  morning,  Rollo  set  out 
early,  alone,  on  his  return.  Jonas,  with  a 
bundle  containing  some  of  liis  clothes,  and 
one  or  two  books  in  one  hand,  and  his  cane 
m  the  other,  stood  by  the  side  of  the  road, 
and  said,  “  Good-by,  Rollo,”  as  Rollo  rode 


CiOOD  BY,  RQLLO. 


31 


away.  He  continued  standing  there,  watch¬ 
ing  the  wagon,  until  it  was  out  of  sight,  and 
then  he  turned  his  face  and  his  steps  towards 
his  new  home. 

Jonas  reached  the  town  where  the  farmer 
lived,  about  noon.  There  was  a  little  village 
by  a  waterfall,  where  he  stopped  to  inquire 
the  way  to  the  farmer's  house.  They  told 
him  that  lie  must  go  across  the  bridge,  near 
the  mill,  and  that  then  he  must  keep  the 
right-hand  road  all  the  way  ;  and  that,  when 
lie  had  gone  about  half  a  mile,  he  would  see 
the  buildings  of  the  farmer’s  off  at  a  distance 
on  a  great  swell  of  land  not  far  from  a  pond. 
He  would  know  the  house,  they  said,  by  the 
large  barns,  and  by  three  or  four  great  elm- 
trees,  which  overhung  the  buildings. 

Jonas  accordingly  walked  along  over  the 
bridge,  and  then  kept  the  right-hand  road. 
It  led  through  woods,  the  land  rising  steep 
upon  one  side,  and  descending  on  the  other 
to  the  mill  stream,  which  here  flowed  swiftly 
over  a  rocky  bed,  down  into  a  deep  ravine. 
Jonas  followed  this  road  about  a  mile,  and 
then  he  came  out  of  the  woods  upon  rising 
ground,  where  he  had  an  extensive  prospect 


32 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


of  the  surrounding  country,  with  high  moun¬ 
tains  in  the  distance. 

At  some  distance  before  him,  he  recognized 
at  once  the  group  of  buildings,  which  had 
been  described  to  him.  It  appeared  to  Jonas 
to  be  a  very  pleasant  farm  indeed.  The 
fields  were  quite  green  all  around  it,  and  the 
leaves  were  coming  out  upon  the  trees.  The 
situation  of  the  farm  was  elevated,  and  yet  it 
was  sheltered  by  higher  land  upon  the  north 
of  it,  which  was  partly  covered  with  groves 
of  trees.  There  was  a  large,  but  very  irreg¬ 
ular-shaped  pond  beyond  it. 

While  Jonas  was  looking  at  this  scene,  his 
attention  was  suddenly  arrested  by  the  sight 
of  a  neatly-dressed  boy,  appearing  about  ten 
years  of  age,  who  was  sitting  upon  a  stone 
by  the  side  of  the  road.  The  boy  arose  from 
the  stone,  and  came  towards  Jonas,  and  ad¬ 
dressed  him,  saying,  — 

“  Can  you  tell  me  which  of  these  roads 
leads  to  the  farm  over  there  ? 17 

Jonas  looked,  and  saw  that  the  road  here 
divided  into  two  branches,  one  of  which  ap¬ 
peared  to  lead  off  to  the  right,  and  the  other 
to  the  left  of  the  farm,  so  that  a  stranger 


GOOD  BY,  ROLLO. 


33 


would  not  know  which  would  be  most 
likely  to  conduct  him  to  it. 

“  They  told  me  at  the  village,”  said 
Jonas,  “  that  I  must  keep  the  right-hand  road 
all  the  way.” 

“  Then  are  you  going  to  that  farm  ?  ”  said 
the  boy. 

“  Yes,”  said  Jonas,  “  I  am  going  to  live 
there.” 

“So  am  I,”  said  the  boy. 

“  Are  you  going  to  work  on  the  farm  ?  ” 

“No,”  said  the  boy,  “  I  am  going  to  make 
a  visit.” 

“  Ah,”  said  Jonas  ;  “  where  do  you  live  ?  ” 

u  I  live  ill  a  town  about  forty  miles  from 
here,”  replied  the  boy,  u  and  I  am  coming  to 
make  a  visit  at  my  uncle’s.” 

“  Did  you  walk  forty  miles  ?  ”  said  Jonas. 

“No,  indeed,”  said  the  boy;  “  do  you 
think  I  would  walk  ?  I  came  in  the  stage¬ 
coach.” 

“  O,  then  you  only  walked  from  the  vil¬ 
lage,”  said  Jonas. 

“  Yes,”  said  the  boy,  “  that’s  all.  I  had  a 
great  mind  to  ride  in  a  chaise  from  the  vil¬ 
lage.  I  have  got  money  enough.  My  father 
gives  me  as  much  money  as  I  want.” 


34 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


While  this  conversation  had  been  going 
on,  the  hoys  had  been' walking  along  in  the 
right-hand  road.  They  soon  lost  sight  of 
the  farm,  for  the  road  descended  into  a  sort 
of  valley.  In  a  short  time,  however,  they 
found  the  farm  coming  into  view  again,  as 
they  drew  near  to  it. 

There  was  a  pleasant  front  yard  before  the 
house,  enclosed  with  a  neat,  white  fence  ; 
and  there  was  a  large  yard  by  the  side  of  the 
house,  with  a  great  gate  in  front,  which  was 
wide  open.  Jonas  and  his  companion  went 
in  at  the  great  gate,  and  walked  through  the 
yard. 

They  went  in  at  a  door  at  the  end  of  the 
house,  which  had  a  large,  flat  stone  before  it, 
for  a  step.  This  door  opened  at  once  into  a 
spacious  family  room,  which  had  a  very 
large  fireplace  in  one  side  of  it,  and  many 
doors  and  windows  upon  the  other  sides. 
The  table  was  set  in  the  middle  of  the  room 
for  dinner,  and  the  farmer’s  wife  and  one  of 
her  girls  were  busy  preparing  the  dinner  at 
the  fire.  Another  girl  was  spinning  at  a 
great  spinning-wheel,  at  a  window  in  the 
back  corner  of  the  room. 

The  farmer’s  wife  seemed  to  know  the 


GOOD  BY,  ROLLO. 


35 


boy  immediately,  when  he  and  Jonas  came 
in.  She  and  both  the  girls  seemed  very  glad 
to  see  him.  They  called  him  Josey.  They 
did  not  know  Jonas  until  he  told  them  who 
he  was.  They  gave  Jonas  a  seat,  and  he 
sat  down  to  rest  himself;  for  he  was  tired 
after  so  long  a  walk. 


36 


CHAPTER  III. 

JOSEY. 

“  Aunt,”  said  Josey,  very  soon  after  the 
boys  had  taken  their  seats,  “  is  there  any 
chance  to  go  a- fishing  on  your  farm  ?  ” 

“  Yes,5’  said  his  aunt,  “the  boys  fish  in 
the  pond  ;  and  in  the  brook,  I  believe,  some¬ 
times.” 

“  Well,”  said  Josey,  “  I  mean  to  go  a-fish- 
ing  this  afternoon.  Where  can  I  find  a  fish¬ 
ing-line  ?  Where’s  uncle  ?  ” 

“  He  is  out  in  the  barn-yard,  mending  his 
cart,  I  believe,”  said  Josey’s  aunt.  “  No  ; 
here  he  comes,  now.” 

Just  as  she  said  this,  the  farmer  came  in, 
with  a  boy  behind  him  just  about  as  big  as 
Josey.  The  farmer  shook  hands  with  Josey, 
and  seemed  very  glad  to  see  him.  His  wife 
told  him  that  the  other  boy  was  Jonas. 
Then  he  came  and  shook  hands  with  Jonas, 
and  Jonas  gave  him  a  letter,  which  he  had 
brought  from  Mr.  Holiday.  The  farmer  took 


JOSEY. 


37 


the  letter,  and  sat  down  in  the  corner  by  the 
side  of  the  fire,  and  began  to  read  it. 

“  Uncle,”  said  Josey,  “  have  you  got  a 
fishing-line  for  me  ? 5  5 

But  the  farmer,  being  busily  occupied  with 
his  letter,  did  not  reply. 

“  Uncle,”  said  Josey  again,  pulling  his 
uncle  by  the  arm,  “  haven’t  you  got  a  fishing- 
line  ?  for  I  want  to  go  a-fishing  this  after¬ 
noon.” 

“  Be  quiet,  Josey,”  said  his  uncle,  without 
looking  up,  “  for  I’m  busy  now.” 

“  But,  uncle,”  persisted  Josey,  “  I  wish  you 
would  just  tell  me  that.  It  won’t  take  you 
but  a  minute  to  tell  me  whether  you  have 
got  a  fishing-line.” 

But  the  farmer  went  on  reading  his  letter, 
without  paying  any  further  attention  to 
Josey.  So  Josey  turned  around,  and  went 
away  pouting.  He  walked  to  the  place  where 
the  boy,  who  had  come  in  with  the  farmer, 
was  sitting,  and  said  to  him,  — 

“  Cousin  Oliver,  have  you  got  a  fishing- 
line?” 

“No,”  said  Oliver,  “I  believe  not;  I  had 
one  once,  but  I  don’t  know  where  it  is. 
Perhaps  Amos  can  find  it.” 

4 


38 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


“  Amos?  who  is  Amos  ?  ”  said  Josey. 

“  Amos  —  he  lives  here  ;  don’t  you  know 
Amos  ?  ” 

“No,”  said  Josey.  “  Where  is  he  ?  ” 

“  Out  in  the  yard,”  said  Oliver. 

So  Josey  went  out  in  the  yard  to  find 
Amos ;  but,  in  a  moment  after  he  went  out 
by  one  door,  Amos  came  in  at  another.  He 
was  quite  a  tall  and  sober-]  ooking  young 
man,  stooping  a  little  in  his  form,  as  if  ac¬ 
customed  to  hard  labor.  At  the  same  time 
that  Amos  came  in,  the  dinner  was  ready, 
and  they  all  sat  down  to  table.  Josey  came 
back  again  soon,  and  sat  down  with  them. 

At  the  table,  the  farmer  asked  Jonas  how 
far  he  had  walked ;  and  he  told  him  ten 
miles,  and  that  he  had  left  his  chest  at  the 
tavern  there.  “  And  at  some  time  when  it 
is  convenient,”  said  he,  “  I  should  like  to 
have  you  let  me  take  a  horse  and  wagon,  and 
go  and  get  it.” 

“Very  well,”  said  the  farmer,  “this  very 
afternoon.  The  best  time  to  do  any  thing  is 
the  first  time  you  get.  You  may  take  the. 
wagon,  and  go  this  afternoon,  and  then  be¬ 
gin  your  work  to-morrow.” 

Immediately  after  dinner,  Josey  began 


JOSEY. 


39 


again  inquiring  of  every  body  for  a  fishing- 
line.  At  last,  the  farmer’s  wife  said,  in  a 
somewhat  impatient  tone,  — • 

“Do,  Amos,  go  and  hunt  up  a  piece  of 
twine,  and  rig  that  child  up  something  for  a 
fishing-line.  I’m  tired  of  hearing  about  it.” 

Accordingly,  while  the  others  went  their 
several  ways  to  their  employments,  Amos  got 
a  piece  of  twine,  and  cut  it  off  of  the  proper 
length  for  a  fishing-line.  Then  lie  went  to 
a  small  drawer  in  a  desk,  which  stood  in  a 
corner  of  the  room,  which  drawer  he  brought 
and  laid  upon  the  table.  Josey  came  and 
began  pulling  the  things  about,  which  were 
in  it.  There  were  screws,  brass  balls,  and 
fish-hooks,  and  blades  of  broken  knives,  and 
other  similar  treasures.  Amos  took  it  away 
from  Josey,  and  selected  a  fish-hook,  and 
also  a  piece  of  lead  for  a  sinker.  With  these 
he  soon  prepared  a  line,  which  he  wound 
upon  a  stick,  and  gave  to  Josey,  telling  him 
that  he  must  cut  himself  a  pole,  when  he 
went  down  to  the  water. 

As  Josey  sallied  forth,  with  his  fish -line  in 
his  hand,  he  found  Jonas  just  going  out  of 
the  yard,  in  the  wagon. 

u  Jonas,”  said  he,  “  I’ve  a  great  mind  to 


40 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


go  with  you,  after  all.  I  don’t  care  much 
about  fishing.  Stop,  Jonas  !  stop  for  me.” 

So  saying,  he  advanced  towards  the  wag¬ 
on,  and  was  going  to  get  in. 

“You  must  ask  your  uncle,”  said  Jonas. 
Josey  then  ran  off  towards  his  uncle,  who 
was  standing  near  the  cart,  explaining  to 
Amos  how  he  wanted  the  tongue  to  be  se¬ 
cured.  Josey  broke  in  suddenly  upon  his 
conversation,  saying, — 

“  Uncle,  uncle,  may  I  go  with  Jonas  ?  ” 
“Yes,”  said  his  uncle,  “any  where, — 
away  with  you.” 

So  Josey  ran,  and  climbed  up  into  the 
wagon  ;  and  the  two  boys  rode  away  to¬ 
gether. 

They  rode  on  at  a  moderate  pace  for  a 
short  distance,  when  Josey  said,  — 

“  Poll !  Jonas,  I  hope  you  ain’t  going  to 
drive  at  that  rate.  He  jogs  along  like  an  old 
cart  horse.  Give  me  the  reins  and  the  whip, 
and  I’ll  show  you  how  to  make  a  horse  go.” 

He  was  going  to  take  the  reins,  but  Jonas 
held  them  out  of  his  reach,  saying,  — 

“No,  I’m  the  driver.” 

“  Let  me  have  the  reins,”  said  Josey,  in  a 
commanding  tone. 


JOSEY. 


41 


“  No,55  said  Jonas,  firmly. 

Josey  made  some  farther  effort  to  get  pos- 
session  of  the  reins,  but,  finding  that  Jonas 
was  firm,  he  gradually  ceased  to  contend  for 
them.  After  riding  for  some  miles,  however, 
they  came  to  the  foot  of  a  long  hill,  and 
Josey  proposed  that  Jonas  should  let  him  get 
out  and  walk  up.  Jonas  consented  to  this ; 
and,  in  fact,  he  got  out  and  walked  himself 
too.  As  soon  as  Josey  was  out,  he  went 
into  the  bushes  by  the  side  of  the  way,  and 
began  cutting  a  long  stick,  which  he  brought 
into  the  road,  and  trimmed  the  branches  off, 
as  he  slowly  walked  along  up  the  hill. 
When  they  had  reached  the  top  of  the  hill, 
Josey  had  finished  his^work,  and  held  in  his 
hand  the  long,  slender  switch  which  he  had 
made. 

u  What  are  you  going  to  do  with  that 
switch?”  said  Jonas. 

u  I  am  going  to  make  the  horse  go,”  said 
Josey. 

u  No,”  said  Jonas. 

11  Yes,”  said  Josey. 

“You  are  not  quite  so  well  acquainted 
with  me,”  said  Jonas,  “as  you  will  be,  by 
and  by.”  • 


4* 


42 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


“  And  you  are  not  so  well  acquainted  with 
me.  I’ve  as  good  a  right  to  drive  the  horse 
as  you  have.” 

“No,”  said  Jonas. 

“  Yes,  I  have,”  said  Josey.  “  It  isn’t  your 
horse.  It  is  my  uncle’s  horse.” 

“  It  is  intrusted  to  my  charge,”  said  Jonas. 
“I’m  captain  of  this  wagon  ;  you  are  only  a 
passenger.” 

So  they  took  their  seats  in  the  wagon,  and 
Josey  began  to  brandish  his  long  switch  over 
the  horse. 

“  If  you  strike  the  horse,”  said  Jonas,  “  I 
shall  have  to  take  the  switch  away  from 
you.” 

* 

Josey  made  no  reply,  but  he  gently  struck 
the  horse  with  the  end  of  his  switch.  The 
horse,  which  was  a  very  spirited  animal, 
sprang  forward,  and  would  have  gone  on 
with  more  speed,  if  Jonas  had  not  restrained 
him. 

“  Now,  Josey,”  said  Jonas,  “  it  will  be  a 
great  deal  better  for  you  to  keep  on  good 
terms  with  me.  You  and  I  are  noing  to  be 
together  here  for  a  long  time,  perhaps,  and  I 
can  help  you  very  often  in  your  plans,  and 
shall  be  very  glad  to  do  so ;  but  then  you 


JOSEY. 


43 


must  do  your  duty,  and  allow  me  to  do 
mine. 5  ? 

“  And  what  is  your  duty  ?  ”  said  Josey. 

“  My  duty  now,”  replied  Jonas,  u  is  to 
drive  this  horse  where  we  are  going  and 
back,  in  a  proper  way,  and  not  to  allow  you 
to  interfere  with  it.” 

Josey  made  no  reply,  but  gently  touched 
the  horse  again. 

Jonas  then  said  nothing  more,  but  went 
on  cpiietly  a  short  distance,  until  they  began 
to  ascend  a  hill.  Then  he  placed  the  reins 
down  upon  the  floor  of  the  wagon,  and  put 
his  foot  upon  them.  Then  he  very  delib¬ 
erately  passed  one  arm  around  Josey,  so  as  to 
grasp  both  of  Josey’s  arms,  just  above  the 
elbows,  and  thus  hold  them  with  a  strong 
gripe.  With  the  other  hand  he  wrested  the 
stick  away  from  him  in  an  instant,  and 
threw  it  away  out  to  the  side  of  the  road. 
The  whole  was  done  in  a  moment,  and  yet 
in  a  very  calm  and  deliberate  manner.  Josey 
was  taken  by  surprise,  and  did  not  know 
what  to  do  or  say.  Jonas  had  planned  and 
executed  the  movement  so  coolly,  and  yet  so 
decidedly,  that  he  had  no  opportunity  *to 
make  any  resistance. 


44 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


Josey  complained  bitterly  after  it  was 
done,  and  he  remained  sullen  during  all  the 
rest  of  the  ride.  He  declared  that  when  he 
got  to  the  tavern,  he  would  get  another 
stick,  while  Jonas  Avas  getting  his  chest. 
Jonas  tried  to  make  him  forget  his  design, 
and,  by  talking  good-humoredly  and  pleas¬ 
antly  to  him,  to  bring  him  to  a  different 
temper  of  mind.  But  all  was  in  vain. 

And  when  Jonas  brought  out  his  chest 
from  the  tavern,  to  put  it  into  the  Avagon,  he 
found  Josey  standing  by  the  horse,  with 
another  long  stick.  Jonas  did  not  Avant  to 
haArn  any  altercation  Avitli  him  in  the  pres¬ 
ence  of  others,  and  accordingly  he  said  noth¬ 
ing  ;  but  they  both  got  into  the  Avagon,  and 
then  they  turned  out  into  the  road,  and  be¬ 
gan  to  return.  They  had  not  gone  far,  be¬ 
fore  Josey  commenced  Avhipping  the  horse 
again. 

Jonas  Avarned  him  to  desist,  but  in  vain. 
He  accordingly  took  the  stick  aAvay  from  him, 
as  he  had  done  before.  Josey  thought  that, 
being  iioav  on  his  guard,  he  shouhf  be  able  to 
resist  j  but  Jonas  Avas  Arery  strong,  and  he 
found  that  his  resistance  Avas  of  no.  avail  at 
all.  Jonas  wrested  it  from  his  gripe  Avith  the 


JOSEY. 


45 


utmost  ease,  notwithstanding  his  struggles, 
and  threw  it  away,  as  before. 

This  made  Josey  more  angry  and  ill-tem¬ 
pered  than  ever.  He  declared  that  he  would 
make  the  horse  go  faster.  He  wished  he 
had  a  good  stick  to  prick  him.  Then  he 
thought  of  his  knife,  and,  taking  it  out,  he 
crept  forward,  and,  putting  his  feet  over  in 
front  of  the  wagon,  he  opened  his  knife,  and 
was  going  to  prick  the  horse  with  the  point 
of  it,  —  looking  round,  at  the  same  time,  to¬ 
wards  Jonas,  as  if  to  see  what  he  would  do 

i 

in  the  case. 

Jonas  did  nothing,  but  coolly  drew  in  the 
reins,  as  if  he  was  stopping  the  horse. 

The  horse  stopped,  and  Josey  suspended 
his  design,  in  order  to  see  what  Jonas  was 
going  to  do. 

u  What’s  the  matter  now,  Jonas?5*  said 
Josey. 

.  Jonas  did  not  answer,  but  got  out  of  the 
wagon,  folded  up  the  long  reins,  and  laid 
theme  across  the  horse’s  back.  Then  he 
began  to  unbuckle  a  strap,  which  passed 
under  the  horse  from  the  shaft  on  one  side, 
to  that  on  the  other. 

i 

When  he  had  unbuckled  both  ends  of  this 


46 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


strap,  he  tossed  it  out  upon  the  ground  at  the 
side  of  the  road ;  and  then  he  began  to  un¬ 
buckle  the  check  rein,  as  it  is  called,  which 
goes  from  the  bit  on  each  side,  and  is  hooked 
at  the  middle,  in  a  hook  upon  the  saddle, 
called  the  water-hook. 

“  Are  you  going  to  unharness  the  horse  ? 55 
said  Josey. 

“No,”  replied  Jonas. 

“What  are  you  going  to  do  then?”  said 
Josey. 

“  You’ll  see  pretty  sopn,”  replied  Jonas. 

So  saying,  he  laid  the  check  rein  down 
upon  the  grass  by  the  side  of  the  strap,  and 
then  he  came  to  the  wagon  again,  to  the 
side  where  Josey  was  sitting. 

“  Come,  Josey,”  said  he,  “  I  want  you  to 
get  out.” 

“  What  for  ?  ”  said  Josey. 

.“I  can’t  tell  you  what  for,  but  you  must 
get  out,  or  else  I  shall  take  you  out.  You 
had  better  get  out  voluntarily,  for  I  am  strong 
enough*  to  master  you,  you  know  very  well ; 
and  I  shall  certainly  take  you  out,  unless  you 
get  out  peaceably,  and  that  may  hurt  you.” 

But  Josey  refused.  lie  moved  over  to  the 
other  side  of  the  wagon,  and  put  himself  in 


JOSEY. 


47 


an  attitude  of  defence.  Jonas  stepped  up 
upon  the  shaft  of  the  wagon,  and,  taking 
Josey  by  the  arms,  he  drew  him  out  of  the 
wagon.  He  was  as  gentle  as  he  could  he  ; 
but  Josey’s  heels  fell  upon  the  wheel,  as 
Jonas  could  only  support  his  head  and  shoul¬ 
ders,  and  the  blow  gave  him  considerable 
pain.  Josey  began  to  cry,  and  to  struggle 
and  kick  furiously. 

Jonas  paid  no  attention  to  his  struggles, 
but  drew  him  out  upon  the  ground,  the 
horse  standing  quietly  all  the  time.  When 
he  had  brought  him  to  the  ground,  he  ex¬ 
tended  him  upon  it,  face  downward,  and 
drew  his  hands  behind  him.  He  did  it  as 
gently  as  possible  ;  but  Josey  felt  that  the 
gripe  upon  them  was  prodigiously  strong, 
and  that  it  would  be  of  little  service  for  him 
to  resist.  Jonas  placed  Josey’s  fore-arms 
side  by  side,  so  that  each  hand  was  at  the 
elbow  of  the  other  arm.  Then  he  took  up 
the  check  rein,  and,  passing  it  round  and 
round,  he  bound  his  arms  together  securely, 
and  tied  the  ends. 

Josey  pulled  a  little  upon  them,  but  he 

found  that  it  was  useless.  Jonas  had  done 

% 

his  work  thoroughly,  so  that  all  Josey’s  at- 


48 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


tempts  to  get  his  arms  free  only  gave  him 
pain,  without  loosening  the  binding  at  all. 
He  tried  to  kick ;  but  he  was  extended  upon 
the  ground  in  such  a  posture  that  his  kicking 
did  no  harm. 

“  Now,  Josey,”  said  Jonas,  “will  you  ride 
peaceably  so,  if  I  wall  let  you  get  into  the 
wagon  ?  ” 

“No,”  said  Josey.  “I’ll  kick  you  all  the 
way,  just  as  quick  as  I  get  up,  and  the  horse 
too,  if  I  can.  And  I’ll  tell  my  uncle  of  you, 
and  you’ll  get  a  good  whipping.” 

“  Then,”  said  Jonas,  “if  that  is  your  tem¬ 
per  of  mind,  I  shall  have  to  tie  your  feet  too  ; 
that  is  all.” 

Accordingly,  without  letting  him  get  up, 
Jonas  tied  his  feet  with  the  other  strap,  and 
then  he  let  go  of  him,  and  allowed  him  to 
sit  up  upon  the  ground. 

Jonas  then  said,  — 

“Now,  Josey,  I  am  very  sorry  to  be 
obliged  to  treat  you  in  this  manner ;  but 
this  horse  is  intrusted  to  my  charge.  It  is 
my  duty  to  prevent  your  doing  him  any  in¬ 
jury,  even  pricking  him  with  the  point  of 
your  knife.  I  should  have  been  glad  if  you 
could  have  been  persuaded  to  act  right ;  but, 


JOSEY. 


49 


as  you  couldn’t,  I  have  had  to  use  force  ;  but 
now,  if  you’ll  promise  me  that  you  will  sit 
quietly  in  your  place,  and  make  me  no  more 
trouble,  I  will  take  off  the  straps,  and  we  will 
have  a  good  ride  home  ;  and  I  will  not  say 
any  thing  about  what  you  have  done.” 

But  Josey  would  not  promise.  He  was 
sullen  and  obstinate.  He  said  that  he  had  as 
good  a  right  to  drive  the  horse  as  Jonas  had, 
and  that  he  would  certainly  tell  his  uncle,  as 
soon  as  he  got  home,  how  Jonas  had  abused 
him. 

Jonas,  therefore,  did  not  release  him,  but 
lifted  him  into  the  wagon ^and  put  him  upon 
his  seat. 

“  Fm  afraid  that  you  can’t  ride  very  com¬ 
fortably,”  said  Jonas,  “and  I’m  very  sorry 
for  it.” 

“Then  why  don’t  you  untie  me?”  said 
Josey. 

“  I  will,  if  you’ll  give  me  your  parole  of 
honor.” 

“  Parole  of  honor  ?  ”  said  Josey  ;  “  what’s 
that  ?  ’  ’ 

“  Why,  when  a  man  is  taken  a  prisoner  of 
war,  if  he  gives  his  parole  of  honor,  —  that  is, 
his  word  of  honor,  for  parole  means  word ,  — 

5 


50 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER, 


that  lie  will  not  try  to  escape,  they  give  him 
a  great  deal  of  liberty,  —  more  than  they 
otherwise  would.” 

“  And  then  doesn’t  he  try  to  get  away  ?  ” 

aNo,”  said  Jonas,  “  not  if  he  is  an  honor¬ 
able  man.  It  is  considered  very  disgraceful 
for  a  man  to  break  his  parole  of  honor.” 

u  I  would,”  said  Josey. 

u  Would  you?  ”  said  Jonas. 

“  Yes,”  said  Josey,  “I’d  get  aw'ay  if  I 
could.” 

“  Then,  if  you  were  to  give  me  your  parole 
of  honor,  not  to  make  me  any  more  trouble, 
and  I  were  to  untie  you,  I  suppose  you’d 
break  it.” 

“  No,”  said  Josey. 

u  I  could  try  it,  at  any  rate,”  said  Jonas; 
“  and  then,  if  you  broke  your  parole,  I  should 
learn  not  to  trust  you  next  time.  Only,”  he 
added,  “  I  should  have  all  the  trouble  of  tying 
you  again.” 

They  rode  on  in  this  way  several  miles. 
Jonas’s  first  plan  was  to  carry  Josey  home  so, 
and  deliver  him  bound  hand  and  foot  to  his 
uncle  ;  but  then  he  reflected  that  it  would 
necessarily  give  his  uncle  some  anxiety  and 
trouble,  to  have  to  attend  to  the  case,  and 


JOSEY. 


51 


that  he  had  better  settle  it  himself  with 
Josey,  if  he  could.  Accordingly,  when  they 
had  got  within  about  a  mile  of  the  farmer’s 
house,  Jonas  turned  aside  from  the  main  road 
into  a  kind  of  by-road,  which,  he  saw,  from 
the  nature  of  the  country,  led  by  a  circuitous 
route  to  the  farmer’s,  so  as  to  avoid  the 
village. 

11  What  are  you  going  this  way  for  ?  ”  said 
Josey. 

“  Because,”  said  Jonas,  “I  don’t  want  to 
have  you  go  through  the  village  in  disgrace. 
•  don’t  want  to  hurt  your  character.” 

Josey  did  not  reply. 

Ci  Arou  see,”  continued  Jonas,  “  that,  in  a 
very  short  time,  you  will  learn  to  behave 
much  better  than  you  do  now.  You’ll 
grow  wiser ;  and  T  don’t  want  to  have  your 
character  spoiled  by  these  pranks.  I  can 
save  your  character  in  the  village,  but  I  can’t 
save  it  at  your  uncle’s,  unless  you’ll  give 
your  parole  of  honor,  so  that  I  can  release 
you.” 

But  Josey  was  still  sullen  and  obstinate. 
He  would  not  give  his  parole  of  honor.  On 
the  contrary,  he  said  that  he  meant  to  tell 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


his  uncle,  and  have  Jonas  whipped  as  soon 
as  he  got  home.  Jonas  had,  therefore,  no 
alternative  but  to  drive  directly  into  the 
yard,  with  Josey  remaining  bound.  He 
drove  the  wagon  up  to  a  post  near  the  barn, 
and  then  began  to  unfasten  the  straps,  by 
which  Josey  was  confined. 

At  that  instant,  however,  the  farmer  came 
to  the  great  barn  door,  and,  seeing  what 
Jonas  was  doing,  he  came  out  to  the  wagon, 
and  asked  how  Josey  came  to  be  tied. 

“  If  you  please,  sir,  ’ 7  said  Jonas,  “I  should 
like  to  have  him  give  an  account  of  it.” 

“Well,  sir,”  said  Josey,  in  a  gruff,  sullen 
voice,  and  holding  down  his  head.  u  He 
tied  me.  He  pulled  me  out  of  the  wagon, 
and  hurt  my  heels,  and  then  he  tied  me.” 

“  What  for  ?  ”  said  his  uncle. 

“  Nothing,”  said  Josey,  —  “  nothing  at  all, 
—  only  I  wanted  the  horse  to  go  faster.” 

“  First,  he  got  long  sticks  to  whip  the 
horse  with,”  said  Jonas,  “and  I  had  to  take 
them  away  from  him.  He  would  not  give 
them  up  peaceably.  Then  he  got  down  in 
front  of  the  wagon,  and  was  going  to  prick 
the  horse  with  the  point  ol  his  knife,  and  I 


JOSEY. 


53 


had  to  tie  him  to  prevent  his  doing  mischief. 
I  did  not  know  whether  the  horse  would 
bear  it.” 

“  Bear  it !  ”  said  the  farmer  ;  “if  the  horse 
had  felt  the  least  touch  of  the  knife,  his 
heels  would  have  been  through  the  front  of 
the  wagon  a  dozen  times  within  a  minute. 
Stop  ;  don’t  untie  him,  Jonas.  Here,  Amos  !  ” 
he  continued,  calling  Amos  from  the  barn. 

Amos  came. 

“  Amos,”  said  the  farmer,  “  take  this  boy- 
just  as  lie  is,  and  carry  him  up  into  the  back 
garret,  and  put  him  on  the  straw  bed.  Per¬ 
haps  he'll  come  to  his  senses  by  to-morrow 
morning.” 

Josey  began  to  cry ;  but  whether  his  tears 
were  the  expression  of  vexation  or  chagrin, 
Amos  paid  no  attention  to  them.  He  took 
him  in  his  arms,  and  carried  him  off  towards 
a  door  in  the  back  part  of  the  house.  He 
entered  in  at  that  door,  and  disappeared,  and 
Jonas  saw  him  no  more  for  several  hours. 


54 


CHAPTER  IY. 

CLEARING  LAND. 

After  Jonas  had  been  at  the  farm  about  a 
week,  he  went  out  one  morning  with  Oliver 
to  break  up  a  piece  of  ground.  The  ground 
was  new,  having  never  been  ploughed,  and 
it  was  rather  too  much  for  Jonas  and  Oliver 
to  undertake  alone.  The  farmer  had  in¬ 
tended  to  send  Amos  with  them,  but  he 
wanted  Amos,  and  another  hired  man  whom 
he  employed,  to  be  engaged  about  some 
other  work ;  and,  as  he  had  observed  that 
Jonas  was  a  very  steady  and  capable  boy,  he 
concluded  to  let  him  try  it. 

“  Clear  the  ground  first,  Jonas,  thoroughly,” 
said  the  farmer,  “if  it  takes  you  all  day. 
Get  off  all  the  logs,  brush,  and  loose  stones  ; 
and,  when  you  strike  any  thing  in  ploughing, 
bring  it  up  to  the  surface  if  you  can,  so  that 
we  can  get  it  off  out  of  the  way,  before  we 
plough  again.  And  think  of  all  the  tools 
that  you  want  before  you  go,  so  as  not  to 


CLEARING  LAND. 


55 


have  to  come  back  again.  Oliver  will  tell 
you  where  the  field  is.” 

“  Yes,”  said  Oliver,  “it  is  beyond  the 
brook  — between  the  brook  and  the  pond.” 

“  Then  it  is  a  good  place  for  me  to  go 
a-fisliing,”  said  Josey,  who  stood  by  them 
with  his  hands  in  his  pockets,  not  knowing 
what  to  do  with  himself  that  day. 

The  boys  did  not  answer ;  but  Jonas  went 
into  the  barn,  and  began  to  yoke  up  the  cattle. 
He  took  two  yoke  of  oxen  ;  one  pair  he  at¬ 
tached  to  the  cart,  the  other  pair  he  left  stand¬ 
ing  by  themselves  in  the  yard.  Then  he  and 
Oliver  lifted  the  plough  into  the  cart.  Oliver 
also  put  in  three  or  four  spare  chains.  Jonas 
got  an  axe  and  an  iron  bar,  —  also  a  spade  and 
a  hoe. 

“What  do  you  want  a  spade  for?”  said 
■%  # 

Josey;  “you  are  not  going  to  spade  up  the 
field,  are  you  ?  ” 

“  Open  the  gate  for  us,  Josey,  and  then  we 
will  give  you  a  ride  to  your  fishing-ground,” 

said  Jonas. 

« 

So  Josey  opened  the  gate,  and  held  it 
open,  while  Oliver  and  Jonas  drove  the 
teams  through.  Then  Josey  climbed  up 
into  the  cart  behind,  and  took  his  seat  with 


56 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER, 


Oliver,  upon  a  board,  which  had  been  placed 
across,  from  side  to  side,  for  a  seat. 

“  Oliver,”  said  Jcsey,  “don’t  you  wish 
that  you  could  go  a-fishing  with  me  to-day, 
instead  of  going  to  work?  ” 

“No,”  said  01ivrer,  “  not  I.” 

“  You  do,”  raid  Josey,  “I  know  you  do; 
—  only  your  ihther  won’t  let  you.” 

“No,”  said  Oliver,  “I'd  rather  plough. 
I  like  to  plough  very  much.” 

“  I  don’t  believe  you  like  to  plough,”  re¬ 
plied  Josey.  “You  do  it  because  you  are 
obliged  to.  Don’t  he,  Jonas?  ” 

Jonas,  who  was  walking  before,  by  the 
side  of  the  oxen,  which  he  was  driving,  fell 
back  a  little,  so  as  to  answer  him. 

“  I  don’t  know,”  said  Jonas,  “  whether  he 
is  obliged  to  work  or  not ;  but  I  know  that 
there  is  a  great  deal  more  pleasure  in  clearing 
and  ploughing  a  field,  than  in  going  a-fishing 
all  day.” 

“  Why,  what  fun  is  there,”  said  Josey,  “  in 
driving  oxen  about  a  field  all  day  ?  ” 

“I  didn’t  say  there  was  fun;  I, said  there 
was  pleasure,”  replied  Jonas. 

“  Well,”  said  Josey,  “  that’s  what  I  mean 
by  fun  —  pleasure.” 


CLEARING  LAND. 


“  Then  you  don’t  understand  the  English 
language  very  well,”  replied  Jonas,  “if  you 
think  those  two  words  mean  the  same  thing. 
I  think  a  boy  is  very  much  to  be  pitied,  who 
does  not  know  any  other  pleasure  than  fun. 
That’s  the  poorest  of  all  kinds.” 

“  I  like  fun  sometimes,”  said  Oliver. 

“Yes,”  said  Jonas,  “you  are  right.  Fun 
is  a  good  kind  of  pleasure,  sometimes  ;  but  it 
doesn’t  do  to  live  upon.” 

“  Well,”  said  Josey,  “fun  is  good  enough 
lor  me,  at  any  rate  ;  and  I’d  rather  go  a- fish¬ 
ing  than  work  all  day.” 

“  I’m  glad  you’re  contented  with  your 
lot,”  said  Jonas.  “We  are  contented  with 
ours;  so  we  are  all  suited.  You  will  have 
the  fun  of  fishing,  and  we  shall  have  the 
satisfaction  of  making  half  an  acre  of  land 
look  smooth  and  handsome  before  night.” 

While  they  were  conversing  in  this  way, 
they  were  moving  along  a  cart  road,  which 
passed  through  some  fields,  not  far  from  the 
shore  of  the  pond,  which  was  here  fringed 
with  trees.  After  a  time,  they  came  to  a 
brook.  The  water  was  deep  and  still  ;  for 
they  were  near  the  mouth  of  the  brook, 
where  it  entered  into  the  pond.  They  went 


58 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


up  the  brook  a  short  distance,  and  then  they 
crossed  it  by  fording.  Jonas  got  into  the 
cart,  when  it  went  into  the  water,  so  that 
they  were  all  carried  over  dry. 

Then  Josey  began  to  look  along  the  shores 
of  the  brook  and  the  pond,  for  a  good  place 
to  fish,  while  Jonas  and  Oliver  began  upon 
their  work  •  for  they  had  now  entered  upon 
the  field,  which  they  were  to  clear  and 
plough. 

On  taking  a  survey  of  the  field,  Jonas  saw 
that  there  were  many  logs  and  stumps,  nearly 
decayed,  scattered  over  the  surface,  —  and 
also  two  or  three  stones  of  pretty  large  size  ; 
though  the  land  was,  in  general,  very  free 
from  stones. 

“  Now,  Oliver,”  said  Jonas,  “  you  may 
take  one  pair  of  oxen,  and  see  what  you  can 
do  with  the  stumps  and  logs,  and  I  will  take 
the  other  pair,  and  try  the  stones.” 

“Well,”  said  Oliver,  “and  where  would 
you  make  the  piles  ?  ” 

Jonas  looked  about  the  field,  and  selected 
places  for  piles  of  logs,  choosing  central 
points,  near  the  largest  and  most  numerous 
logs  ;  and  then  he  let  Oliver  go  to  work 
drawing  them  in.  The  way  that  Oliver  did 


CLEARING  LAND. 


59 


it  was  this  :  He  would  fasten  a  spare  chain 
around  the  end  of  a  log,  and  then  hook  to  it 
the  end  of  the  chain  which  was  attached  to 
the  yoke  j  and  then,  starting  the  oxen  along, 
he  would  draw  the  log  out  to  the  pile.  If 
any  log  was  partly  imbedded  in  the  ground, 
so  that  he  could  not  get  the  chain  under  it 
very  well,  he  would  leave  it  until  Jonas’ 
could  come  with  his  iron  bar. 

As  he  was  working  in  this  way  in  various 
places,  wherever  the  logs  and  stumps  chanced 
to  lie,  he  happened,  in  a  short  time,  to  come 
to  a  place  where  Jonas  was  at  work  upon  a 
stone.  He  was  digging  all  around  it. 

“  What  are  you  doing?  ”  said  Oliver. 
i:l  am  digging  around  this  stone,”  said 
Jonas,  iC  so  as  to  get  a  chain  under  it ;  and  I 
want  you  to  help  me  in  a  moment.” 

So  Jonas,  who  had  by  this  time  finished 
his  digging,  laid  down  the  spade,  and  took 
the  iron  bar,  and  pried  up  the  end  of  the 
stone.  “  Now,”  said  he,  u  I  want  you,  Oliver, 
to  get  the  chain  under  it,  if  you  can.” 

Oliver  took  the  chain,  and  was  just  going 
to  run  it  under  the  stone  with  his  hand  ; 
but  Jonas  stopped  him. 

u  I  can  run  it  right  under,”  said  Oliver. 


60 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


“  No,”  said  Jonas,  “that  will  not  be  safe. 
Never  put  your  hand  under  a  stone  held  up 
only  by  an  iron  bar.  Bring  me  a  small  log 
of  wood.” 

So  Oliver  looked  around,  and  found  a 
small  stump  of  a  tree,  the  roots  of  which 
were  so  much  decayed,  that  he  easily  tore  it 
up,  and  brought  it  to  the  stone.  Then,  while 
Jonas  pried  up  the  stone,  he  crowded  this 
under  it.  Then  Jonas  let  the  stone  down 
upon  it,  and  drew  out  his  bar.  The  billet 
of  wood  kept  the  stone  from  settling  back 
again  into  the  hole. 

Just  at  this  moment,  the  boys  heard  a  loud 
shouting,  at  a  distance  from  them  across  the 
field.  They  both  looked  up,  and  saw  Josey 
coming  towards  them,  running,  and  holding 
up  something  in  his  hand. 

“  He  has  caught  a  fish,”  said  Oliver. 

“Yes,”  said  Jonas,  “1  really  believe  he 
has.” 

Josey  came  bounding  along  over  the  rough¬ 
nesses  of  the  field,  and,  when  he  came  up  to 
the  other  boys,  he  showed  them  his  fish,  with 
an  air  of  great  exultation. 

“  What  is  it?  ”  said  Jonas. 

“A  trout,”  said  Oliver. 


CLEARING  LAND. 


61 


“  Yes,”  said  Josey,  “ a  real  trout.5’ 

“  He  has  got  a  trout,  I  believe,”  said  Jonas, 
quietly.  “  Where  did  you  catch  him,  Jo¬ 
sey  ?  ” 

“Right  down  under  the  bank  there,”  said 
Josey,  talking  very  fast  and  very  eagerly. 
“  I  thought  that  it  was  a  good  place,  and  I 
had  a  magnificent  bite,  directly  after  I  put 
my  line  in,  but  I  did  not  catch  him  that  time. 
But  I  waited  patiently,  and  presently  he 
came  again,  and,  when  he  got  a  good  hold, 
I  yanked  him  right  out.” 

“  Yanked  ?  ”  said  Jonas. 

“  Yes,”  said  Josey,  “  quicker  than  a  flash. 
Come  down  here,  and  I’ll  show  you  the  very 
place.” 

“No,”  said  Jonas,  “'we  have  got  to  yank 
out  this  great  stone.  There  is  more  pleasure 
in  that,  than  there  is  in  getting  a  trout  out  of 
water.” 

“  Poll !  ”  exclaimed  Josey. 

“  Don’t  you  think  so  ?  ”  asked  Jonas. 

“No,”  replied  Josey;  “there’s  no  skill  in 
doing  that ;  but  it  requires  some  skill  to  hook 
up  a  fine  trout  like  this.” 

And  here  Josey  held  up  his  trout  for  Jonas 
and  Oliver  to  look  at  once  more. 

6 


62 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


“Well,  now,”  replied  Jonas,  “suppose  you 
get  this  stone  out  for  us,  and  show  how 
easily  it  is  done.” 

“  Why,  you’ve  got  nothing  to  do,  but  to 
hook  the  chain  around  it,  and  then  hitch  on 
with  the  oxen,  and  pull  it  out.  I  can  do  it 
easily  enough.” 

“  Well,”  replied  Jonas,  “  try.  Suppose 
you  try  to  put  the  chain  round.”  Josey  laid 
down  his  fish,  and  took  the  chain,  with  a 
very  prompt  and  pompous  air,  and  attempted 
to  pass  it  under  the  stone,  where  Jonas  and 
Oliver  had  raised  it  up  from  its  bed.  He 
pushed  the  hook  in  under  the  stone,  as  far  as 
he  could  reach,  with  his  hand,  and  then 
went  round  to  the  other  side j  but  the  hook 
was  not  in  sight,  and  he  could  not  reach  it. 

“  I  can’t  reach  far  enough,”  said  Josey. 

“  No,”  said  Jonas.  “  I’ll  tell  you  how 
they  do  it.  They  push  it  through  with  the 
iron  bar.  If  you  draw  the  chain  back  again, 
and  put  the  hook  just  in  under  the  stone, 
you  can  set  the  end  of  the  iron  bar  against 
the  inside  of  the  hook,  and  so  push  it 
through.” 

“Let  me  try,”  said  Josey. 

So  he  took  the  iron  bar,  and  followed 


CLEARING  LAND. 


63 


Jonas’s  directions.  He  found,  to  his  great 
satisfaction,  that  he  could  push  the  chain 
very  far  under  the  stone,  and,  going  round  to 
the  other  side,  he  found  that  the  hook  and 
several  links  had  come  out  through,  so  that 
it  was  very  easy  to  draw  up  the  end.  Josey 
took  up  this  end  of  the  chain,  and,  drawing 
it  and  the  other  end  also  around  the  stone, 
he  was  going  to  catch  the  hook  into  one  of 
the  links,  about  the  middle  of  the  chain, 
where  the  hook  met  the  chain,  when  drawn 
tight  around  the  stone. 

“  Not  into  the  link,  Josey,”  said  Jonas ; 
“hook  around  the  whole  chain.” 

u  Why  ?  ”  asked  Josey. 

“  If  you  hook  into  a  link,”  said  Jonas, 
“  the  hook  must  remain  at  that  link,  and 
cannot  draw  any  tighter  round  the  stone. 
But,  if  the  hook  takes  in  the  whole  chain, 
then,  when  we  come  to  pull  it,  it  will  draw 
up  the  chain  tighter  around  the  stone,  and  so 
it  will  be  less  in  danger  of  slipping  off.” 

If  Jonas  had  ridiculed  or  taunted  Josey  for 
his  ignorance,  he  would  only  have  given  him 
pain,  and  driven  him  off  to  his  fishing  again, 
less  inclined  to  attempt  any  useful  work  than 
ever.  But  this  Jonas  was  very  unwilling  to 


64 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


do.  Ho  wanted  very  much  to  interest  Josey 
in  farming  :  and  so  he  kindly  explained  to 
him  what  he  did  not  know,  and  let  him  per¬ 
form  the  process  himself.  It  resulted  just  as 
Jonas  had  expected.  Josey  became  quite  in¬ 
terested  in  getting  out  the  stone.  He  stood 
by  when  Jonas  hooked  the  cattle  on ;  and, 
when  all  was  ready,  Jonas  said,  — 

“  Now,  Josey,  as  you  have  done  so  much 
towards  it,  you  may  as  well  finish.  Suppose 
you  take  the  goad-stick,  and  make  the  oxen 
drag  it  out.” 

“Well,”  said  Josey,  “let’s  have  it.” 

He  took  the  goad-stick  from  Jonas’s  hands, 
and  started  the  cattle  along,  and  the  stone, 
after  being  slowly  heaved  up  from  its  bed, 
tumbled  over  out  upon  the  ground. 

“  That’s  right,”  said  Jonas  ;  “  now  keep  on, 
and  drag  it  out  to  the  brook,  where  we  came 
across.” 

Josey  tried  to  drive  the  oxen  along  ;  but  he 
made  very  crooked  work  of  it.  He  made 
the  air  ring  with  his  loud  vociferations  ;  but 
the  oxen  either  did  not  understand,  or  were 
not  disposed  to  obey  ;  and  Jonas  had  to  run 
forward,  and  take  the  goad-stick  from  his 
hands,  so  as  to  direct  them  right. 


' 


bee,  Jonas,’  said  Josey ;  ‘Fve  caught  another  fish.’”  — Page  67 


CLEARING  LAND. 


67  ’ 

“  Let  me  come,  Josey,”  said  he.  “You 
do  very  well  for  a  beginning  ;  but  some  day 
I’ll  teach  you  how  to  drive.” 

u  What  do  you  want  the  stone  away  out 
here  for?”  said  Josey. 

u  Why,  it  must  be  out  of  the  held  some¬ 
where,”  replied  Jonas,  “  and  I  thought  that, 
perhaps,  some  day  or  other,  we  might  like  to 
build  a  bridge  across  the  brook  there,  and 
then  these  stones  would  help  make  the 
abutment.  However,  M  finish  the  work 
now,  and  you  may  go  back  to  your  fishing.” 

So  Josey  went  back  to  his  fishing,  though 
with  less  appearance  of  interest  than  he  had 
manifested  at  first.  Jonas  and  Oliver  re¬ 
turned  to  their  work. 

In  little  less  than  half  an  hour,  the  atten¬ 
tion  of  Jonas  and  Oliver  was  again  arrested  by 
a  call  from  Josey.  They  looked  around,  and 
saw  him  standing  near  the  shore,  where  he 
had  been  fishing,  looking  towards  them,  and 
holding  up  another  fish,  which  he  had  caught. 

See,  Jonas,”  said  he ;  “  I’ve  caught 
another  fish.” 

“  Yes,”  said  Jonas,  u  I’m  glad  of  it.” 

Josey,  after  holding  up  his  second  fish  a 
moment  longer  in  silence,  disappeared  again 


68 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER, 


behind  the  bank,  and  Jonas  and  Oliver  went 
on  with  their  work  as  before. 

In  about  an  hour  after  this,  Josey  appeared 
again,  slowly  walking  along  towards  that 
part  of  the  field  where  the  boys  ivere  at 
work,  winding  up  his  fishing-line  as  he 
came.  He  observed  that  a  great  change  had 
taken  place  in  the  appearance  of  the  field, 
since  he  had  left  it.  The  scattered  logs  and 
stumps  had  been  gathered  in  three  large 
piles,  in  different  parts  of  the  field,’  and  in 
one  place  a  smaller  heap  was  burning.  Josey 
walked  up  towards  the  fire. 

u  What’s  this  fire  for  ?  ”  said  he. 
u  To  crack  that  stone,”  replied  Jonas 
Josey  looked,  and  saw  that  the  fire  was 
built  upon  a  large  stone,  which  lay  half  im¬ 
bedded  in  the  ground,  and  was  too  large  to 
be  moved  by  the  oxen. 

Jonas  had  dug  a  sort  of  trench  all  around 
it,  by  which  means  it  was  more  exposed  to 
the  action  of  the  fire,  and  had  then-  built  a 
solid  fire  of  logs  upon  it.  This  fire  was  now 
just  beginning  to  bum. 

“  Where  did  you  get  your  fire  ?  ”  asked 
Josey. 

“  In  my  pocket,”  said  Jonas. 


CLEARING  LAND. 


69 

“Your  pocket!*'  exclaimed  Josey  ;  “do 
you  carry  fire  in  your  pocket? ” 

“  Not  exactly/5  said,  Jonas,  “  but  I  always 
carry  a  tinder-box,  when  I  go  out  to  clear 
land.  But,  Josey/5  continued  he,  “  how 
comes  it  that  you  leave  your  fishing  ?  Can5t 
you  catch  any  more  ? 55 

“Yes/5  said  Josey,  “I  have  caught  five; 
but  I’m  tired  of  fishing  now.55 

“  What  have  you  done  with  your  fishes  ? 55 
said  Oliver. 

“  O,  I  left  them  down  under  the  bank  in 
the  shade.  I  thought  I’d  come  and  see 
what  you  are  doing.  You  don’t  expect  to 
crack  up  that  great  rock  by  building  a  fire 
on  it,  do  you  ? 55 

“'I  hope  to,”  said  Jonas,  “if  it  is  the  right 
kind.” 

“  What  kind  ?  ”  asked  Josey. 

“  Why,  the  kind  that  will  crack  by  having 
fires  built  upon  them.  There  is  a  kind  of 
bluish,  close-grained  stone,  that  will  crack  if 
we  build  a  good,  hot,  and  steady  fire  on 
them.” 

“  And  then  pour  on  cold  water  ?  ” 

“No,”  said  Jonas,  “without  any  cold 
water.” 


70 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


During  this  conversation,  Jonas  had  con¬ 
tinued  to  heap  on  the  largest  fragments  of 
stumps  and  logs  that  he  could  find  in  the 
vicinity  of  his  fire.  Josey  stood  looking  on 
a  few  minutes  in  silence,  and  then  he  said 
again,  — 

“  How  long  before  you  expect  that  the 
rock  will  break  ? ” 

“  O,  in  two  or  three  hours,”  said  Jonas. 
“  Perhaps,  if  we  get  a  good  fire  upon  it  now, 
we  may  find  some  of  the  seams  opened  when 
we  come  down  after  dinner.” 

“Well,”  said  Josey,  “and  I’ll  help  build 
the  fire.” 

He  accordingly  went  to  work  very  dil¬ 
igently,  heaping  up  wood  upon  the  fire. 
Jonas  and  Oliver  occupied  themselves  with 
drawing  the  remaining  logs  to  the  great 
heaps,  which  they  had  begun  to  make. 
After  a  time,  Josey  went  to  help  Oliver. 
He  found  him  rooting  out  stumps  with  the 
oxen.  The  stumps  were  almost  entirely 
decayed  below,  for  the  field  had  long  been 
cleared  of  its  wood,  and  used  as  pasture- 
ground.  Josey  soon  became  very  much 
interested  in  his  work.  Oliver  would  let 
him  fasten  a  chain  around  a  stump  or  a  log, 


CLEARING  LAND. 


71 


and  then  he  would  attach  the  oxen  to  it,  and 
draw  it  out  of  its  bed.  and  away  to  the  nearest 
heap.  In  fact,  lie  began  to  think  that  there 
was  full  as  much  pleasure  in  seeing  the  old 
roots  come  tearing  up  out  of  the  turf,  as  in 
seeing  the  trout  drawn  lip  by  his  line  from 
the  waters  of  the  pond. 

A  little  after  the  middle  of  the  forenoon, 
the  boys  had  cleared  off  nearly  all  the  large 
logs  and  stumps,  and  then  they  put  one  yoke 
of  oxen  to  the  cart,  and  went  all  over  the 
field  to  gather  up  the  smaller  pieces.  While 
Jonas  was  doing  this,  Josey  carried  brands 
from  the  fire  upon  the  rock,  and  set  the 
great  heaps  on  fire,  and  Jonas  brought  cart¬ 
loads  after  cart-loads  and  threw  them  upon 
them.  Then  they  put  both  pairs  of  oxen  to 
the  plough,  and  Jonas  said  that  he  might 
drive  one  team,  while  Oliver  drove  the  other. 
Joseyr  was  much  pleased  with  this  plan,  and 
so  they  commenced  their  work,  Josey  and 
Oliver  for  teamsters,  and  Jonas  to  hold  the 
plough. 

“  Keep  about  ten  feet  from  the  edge  of  the 
field  all  around,”  said  Jonas  to  his  teamsters. 

“Why?”  said  Josey;  “why  don’t  you 
plough  close  to  the  edge  ?  ” 


72 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


“  W 3  shall  get  to  the  edge  presently,” 
said  Jonas.  “  We  shall  go  nearer  and  nearer 
every  time  we  go  round.” 

So  the  hoys  set  the  teams  in  motion,  and 
Jonas  followed,  guiding  the  plough.  They 
went  round  in  such  a  direction  as  to  turn 
the  furrow  slice  in,  towards  the  middle  of 
the  field,  and  not  towards  the  outside.  Jo- 
sey  was  very  much  interested  in  seeing  the 
plough  cut  in,  with  so  much  power,  into  the 
turf ;  sometimes  it  had  to  run  through  a 
little  hillock,  tearing  out  great  brake  roots,  or 
half-decayed  stumps,  which  had  not  appeared 
much  above  the  surface  of  the  ground.  Then 
it  would  go  down  into  a  deep  hollow,  and 
run  over  the  bottom  of  it  without  breaking 
up  the  sod,  plunging  in,  up  to  the  beam 
again,  in  the  bank  upon  the  opposite  side. 

So  it  went  on  through  bushes,  brakes,  and 
briers,  until,  at  length,  they  had  gone  once 
round  the  field,  and  had  returned  to  the 
place  from  whence  they  had  set  out.  Here 
Jonas  stopped  to  let  the  cattle  breathe. 

“Jonas,”  said  Josey,  “I  wish  you’d  let 
me  hold  the  plough.” 

“  No,”  said  Jonas  ;  “  it  takes  a  man  to  hold 
the  plough.” 


CLEARING  LAND. 


73 


“  A  man,”  said  Josey  ;  “  are  you  a  man  ?  ” 

“  Why,  not  quite,”  replied  Jonas  ;  “but  I 
seem  to  be  all  the  man  we  can  have  here.” 

“  Why  don’t  you  plough  in  the  bottoms 
of  the  hollows?  ”  said  Josey. 

“  We  can’t,”  said  Jonas;  “  the  plough  will 
not  go  in  at  the  bottom  of  a  hole.” 

“  Why  not  ?  ”  asked  Josey. 

“  Because,”  replied  Jonas,  ‘-'you  see,  when 
the  plough  is  down  at  the  bottom,  the  cattle 
are  up  upon  the  high  ground,  out  of  the  hole, 
and  so  the  chain  draws  the  end  of  the  beam 
upward,  and  keeps  the  point  of  the  share 
from  going  down.” 

“That’s  a  pity,”  said  Josey,  “'because  we 
want  to  plough  up  the  whole  field.” 

“  No,”  said  Jonas ;  “  the  hollows  will  all  get 
filled  up  with  the  loose  earth,  which  will 
get  harrowed  in,  from  around  them  ;  and 
then  the  ground  will  be  loose  alike  all  over 
the  field.  The  plough  sets  in  deepest  where 
it  is  high,  and  not  so  deep  where  it  is  low ; 
and  so,  you  see,  it  ploughs  off  the  high  places, 
and  leaves  the  low  ones  to  be  filled  up,  so 
that  the  plough  is  a  great  leveller.  But 
come,  we’ll  go  on  again.  Keep  the  off  ox 

7 


74  JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 

just  ill  the  furrow,  which  we  made  the  first 
time.” 

The  boys  did  this,  and  they  found  that 
they  went  round  the  second  time  much  more 
easily  and  regularly  than  they  had  done  the 
first.  The  plough  cut  its  way  better  by  the 
side  of  a  furrow  already  opened,  than  it  had 
done  before,  when  it  had  to  break  into  turf 
that  was  continuous  and  firm  on  each  side. 
They  passed  round  and  round  the  field  in 
this  way,  until  they  had  ploughed  out  to  the 
edge,  and  then  they  found  it  was  time  to  go 
home  to  dinner.  They  turned  the  cattle 
loose  to  graze  upon  the  middle  of  the  field, 
replenished  the  fire  upon  the  great  stone,  and 
then,  getting  across  the  brook  by  a  log,  a 
little  up  the  stream,  they  walked  along  to¬ 
wards  the  house. 

When  they  had  reached  a  little  rising 
ground,  just  beyond  the  brook,  Josey  called 
upon  the  other  boys  to  look  round  and  see 
how  handsomely  their  ploughing  looked. 

They  accordingly  looked  round.  The 
whole  of  the  middle  of  the  field  was  cleared 
of  its  stumps,  and  looked  quite  smooth,  com¬ 
pared  with  its  appearance  in  the  morning, 


CLEARING  LAND. 


75 


The  belt  of  ploughed  land  around  the  piece 
looked  smoother  still.  From  the  distance  at 
which  they  saw  it,  the  furrows  had  a  very 
even  and  handsome  appearance,  which  pleased 
Josey  very  much. 

“  I  like  to  plough,”  said  he.  “  I’m  going 
to  plough  all  this  afternoon.” 

Just  then  a  great  butterfly  flew  by,  and 
off  he  ran,  cap  in  hand,  to  catch  it.  When 
he  had  gone,  Jonas  and  Oliver  followed, 
walking  slowly. 

“  Josey  has  really  done  some  work,”  said 

Oliver. 

“Yes,”  said  Jonas,  “he  has  made  quite  a 
beginning.” 

“  I  think  now  that  he  has  learned  to  like 
work,  he  will  be  steady,  and  help  us  all  the 
time.” 

“No,”  said  Jonas. 

“  Why  not  ?  ”  said  Oliver. 

“  He  has  been  forming  his  habits  for  ten 
years,”  said  Jonas,  “  and  they  won’t  be 
broken  up  in  half  a  day.” 


76 


CHAPTER  Y. 

JOSEY’S  PROMISES. 

After  dinner  that  day,  Josey  was  very 
eager  to  go  back  to  the  field.  He  had 
talked  a  great  deal  at  dinner  time  about  the 
work,  telling  the  farmer  how  much  he  had 
done. 

“  I  ploughed,”  said  he,  “  a  wide  strip,  all 
around  the  field.” 

“Did  you?”  said  the  farmer;  “that’s 
pretty  well  for  such  a  boy  as  you  —  to 
manage  a  double  team  of  oxen  and  the 
plough,  in  breaking  up  such  a  piece  of 
ground  as  that.” 

“  I  didn’t  say  alone,”  replied  Josey.  “  Jo¬ 
nas  and  Oliver  helped.” 

“  O,  they  helped,  then  ?  ”  said  the  farmer. 

“Yes,”  said  Josey;  “but  I  caught  five 
fishes  besides.” 

But  none  of  the  company  seemed  to  pay 
much  attention  to  his  fishes. 

“  Only,”  continued  Josey,  “  1  came  away 


josey’s  promises.  77 

and  forgot  them.  I  left  them  under  the 
bushes.  I  must  go  right  down  after  dinner 
and  get  them.  Besides,  I  want  to  see  if  the 
stone  is  cracked.” 

So  he  was  in  great  haste  to  go  back  after 
dinner.  He  ran  along,  leaping  over  the 
stones,  now  on  this  side  of  the  road,  and 
now  on  that,  until  at  length  Jonas  said,  — 

“  Josey,  that  isn’t  the  way  to  go  back  to 
your  work.” 

11  Why  not  ?  ”  said  Josey. 

“  Because,”  replied  Jonas,  “  we  want  all 
our  strength  for  our  work,  when  we  expect 
to  continue  at  it  all  the  afternoon.  All  your 
leaping  and  running  is  so  much  taken  off 
from  your  strength  for  the  field.” 

“  Why,  I’m  not  tired,”  said  Josey,  aat 
all.” 

u  Perhaps  you  don’t  feel  tired  now  ;  but 
you  will  become  tired  so  much  the  sooner 
this  afternoon,  the  more  you  throw  away 
exertion  now.” 

“  No,”  said  Josey  ;  and  away  he  went  to 
a  beech-tree,  which  stood  by  the  road-side, 
and  began  to  make  desperate  exertions  to 
climb  it.  He  said  that  he  believed  there  was 

a  bird’s  nest  there. 

7  m 


78 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


Jonas  and  Oliver  paid  no  attention  to  him, 
but  went  along  towards  the  field. 

“Now,”  said  Oliver,  “the  first  thing  is  to 
replenish  our  fires.” 

“No,”  said  Jonas;  “let  us  go  and  see  first 
whether  the  rock  is  cracked.” 

The  boys  accordingly  went  along  to  ex¬ 
amine  the  rock.  They  found  that  the  fire 
had  burned  down  a  great  deal,  and  that  the 
remains  of  it  had  fallen  down  on  every  side, 
leaving  the  rock,  in  a  great  measure,  bare. 

“  No,”  said  Josey,  as  he  came  up  to  it,  “it 
isn’t  cracked  —  I  knew  it  wouldn’t  crack.” 

“We’ll  examine  it,”  said  Jonas. 

Josey  looked  around,  and  saw  that  Jonas 
had  the  iron  bar  in  his  hand.  Jonas  ad¬ 
vanced  to  the  rock,  and  began  striking  it 
with  the  point  of  his  bar. 

-  “Is  it  cracked,  Jonas  ?  ”  said  Oliver. 

“Yes,”  said  Jonas,  “I  believe  it  is.” 

“  How  do  you  know  ?  ”  said  Josey  ;  “  ] 
don’t  see  any  crack.” 

“I  judge  by  the  sound,”  said  Jonas. 

Jonas  continued  striking  the  stone  with 
his  bar,  for  a  few  minutes. 

Presently  the  boys  began  to  see  a  small 
crack  running  along  through  the  point  where 


josey’s  promises. 


79 


Jonas  was  striking.  By  repeating  the  blows 
some  time  longer,  he  at  length  opened  a  large 
seam,  which  ran  down  through  the  rock 
somewhat  on  one  side  of  the  centre,  so  as  to 
separate  quite  a  large  fragment  from  the  rest 
of  the  mass. 

u  There,”  said  Jonas,  “  we  have  got  one 
piece  off.  We’ll  yoke  up  the  oxen,  and  haul 
that  away  the  first  thing.” 

So  Oliver  went  and  yoked  up  one  pair  of 
the  oxen,  while  Jonas  and  Josey  pried  up  the 
fragment  of  the  rock,  and  fastened  a  chain 
around  it.  Then  they  drew  it  out  of  the 
hole,  and  Oliver  drove  the  oxen  along  with 
it  to  the  place  where  the  others  had  been 
put,  near  the  bank  of  the  brook.  While  he 
was  gone,  Jonas  replenished  the  fire,  piling 
up  the  brands  and  half-burned  logs  that  re¬ 
mained  upon  the  rest  of  the  rock,  which  was 
yet  too  large  to  draw  away.  He  also  brought 
some  fuel  from  the  other  piles,  which  were 
near,  so  as  to  make  a  large  and  hot  fire. 
Then  they  went  around  the  field,  and  laid 
up  the  other  fires,  so  as  to  have  all  the  brands 
and  fragments  of  wood  entirely  consumed; 
and  after  that  they  resumed  their  ploughing. 

They  began  now  on  the  inside  of  the  belt 


80 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


of  ploughed  land,  which  they  had  made  be¬ 
fore  dinner,  and  they  went  around  the  field 
in  the  contrary  direction,  so  as  to  turn  the 
furrow  out  towards  the  furrows  ploughed 
before.  Oliver  drove  the  forward  oxen, 
and  Josey  those  next  the  plough.  The  busi¬ 
ness  went  on  very  smoothly  and  pleasant¬ 
ly,  until  they  had  gone  about  three  times 
around  the  field,  when  Josey  wanted  to  ex¬ 
change  with  Oliver,  and  drive  the  forward 
team. 

“  Well,”  said  Oliver,  “  I’m  willing.” 

“No,-”  replied  Jonas,  “it  won't  do  for  you 
to  drive  the  leading  team,  for  that  requires 
more  skill.  You’re  learning,  Josey,  but  you 
must  practise  more,  before  you  can  drive  the 
leaders  in  breaking  up.” 

“  I  can  drive  them  now,”  said  Josey,  “just 
as  well  as  Oliver.”  And  so  saying,  he  ad¬ 
vanced  towards  where  Oliver  was  standing, 
and  began  to  give  orders  to  his  oxen. 

“No,  Josey,”  said  Jonas,  “you  mustn’t  do 
that.” 

“  Why,  I’ve  a  right  to  drive  which  team  I 
please,”  said  he. 

“No,”  said  Jonas. 

“  Why  not  ?  ”  asked  Josey. 


josey’s  promises.  81 

11  Because,”  said  Jonas,  “  this  work  is  under 
my  charge,  and  you  must  do  what  I  direct.” 

Josey  had  learned  by  his  adventure  in  the 
wagon,  on  the  day  when  they  went  for  the 
trunk,  that  Jonas  was  a  boy  of  great  firmness 
and  decision,  and  he  was  convinced  that  it 
would  do  no  good  for  him  to  attempt  to  drive 
the  oxen,  contrary  to  his  commands.  Had 
it  not  been  for  this  adventure,  he  would  now 
probably  have  pushed  Oliver  away,  and  taken 
the  command  of  his  oxen  without  any  cere¬ 
mony.  As  it  was,  he  hesitated;  —  and  in  a 
moment  said,  — 

“  Well,  I  don’t  see  'why  you  can’t  let  me 
drive  the  head  team,  as  well  as  Oliver.” 

“  Because  you  can’t  drive  them  so  well. 
You  see,”  continued  Jonas,  “  we  are  at  work 
now,  not  at  play.  If  we  were  at  play,  per¬ 
haps  I  ought  to  let  you  take  turns  with  Oliver, 
so  as  to  divide  the  pleasure  ecpially  between 
you.  But  we  are  at  work ;  and  the  work  is 
committed  to  my  charge,  and  it  is  my  duty 
to  manage  to  the  best  advantage  for  your 
uncle  ;  and  the  best  management  is  for  Oliver 
to  drive  the  forward  team.  So  take  your 
own  place,  Josey.” 

“No,”  said  Josey,  “if  you  won’t  let  me 


82 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


drive  the  head  team,  then  I  won’t  drive 
at  all.” 

u  Well,”  said  Jonas,  li  I  am  sorry,  but  we 
must  do  the  best  we  can  without  you.” 

Josey  fell  back  out  of  the  way,  and  Oliver 
started  both  pairs  of  oxen  along. 

u  I  am  sorry  you  can’t  help  us  any  more, 
Josey,”  said  Jonas,  as  they  moved  slowly 
onward. 

“  I  don’t  want  to  work  any  more,”  said 
Josey;  “  I’ve  worked  enough.” 

“  You  said  you  were  going  to  work  all  the 
afternoon,”  said  Oliver. 

u  Well,  I  was  going ’to,”  said  Josey,  walk¬ 
ing  along  by  the  side  of  the  plough,  u  but  I’m 
tired  of  it ;  besides,  I  don’t  have  to  work  as 
you  and  Jonas  do,  to  earn  money.  I’ve  got 
money  enough  without.” 

“ How  much  have  you  got?  ”  said  Oliver. 

“  O,  I’ve  got  several  dollars,  that  my  father 
gave  me.  He  gave  me  more  money  than  I 
needed  to  pay  my  expenses,  and  all  the  rest 
is  my  own.” 

By  this  time,  they  had  come  to  a  part  of 
the  farm  which  was  near  the  mouth  of  the 
brook,  and  he  accordingly  left  the  boys,  and 
said  that  he  was  going  a- fishing  again.  He 


83 


josey’s  promises. 

walked  over  the  belt  of  ploughed  ground,  and 
disappeared  among  the  bushes. 

“  Should  you  have  thought,”  said  Oliver, 
“  that  his  father  would  have  given  him  so 
much  money  ?  ” 

“ 1  don’t  know  that  he  did,”  said  Jonas. 

“  Why,  he  says  he  did,”  said  Oliver. 

“  Yes,”  said  Jonas. 

“  And  don’t  you  think  he  did  ?  ” 

“  I  don’t  know  any  thing  about  it.  He 
may  have  given  it  to  him  ;  but  Josey’s  word 
isn’t  proof.” 

“  I  shouldn’t  think  he  would  tell  a  lie,” 
said  Oliver. 

“  I  shouldn’t  think  that  he  ought  to  tell  a 
lie ;  but  such  boys  as  he  very  often  do.” 

About  an  hour  after  this,  Oliver  heard  a 
loud  crack,  and  he  asked  Jonas  what  it  was. 

“  Our  rock,  I  rather  think,”  said  Jonas; 
“let  us  go  and  see.” 

They  ploughed  on,  until  they  came  op¬ 
posite  to  the  rock,  and  then  went  to  examine 
it.  Jonas  tried  it  with  his  iron  bar,  and  very 
soon  opened  two  or  three  more  seams,  which 
divided  the  mass  into  fragments  so  small,  that 
he  thought  that  they  could  draw  them  away. 
He  accordingly  cleared  off  the  fire,  laying 


84 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


the  brands  together  in  a  heap  near  by,  in 
order  that  they  might  be  consumed ;  and 
then,  prying  up  the  fragments  of  the  stone, 
they  dragged  them  all  away. 

Just  as  they  had  completed  this  work,  and 
were  about  resuming  their  ploughing,  they 
saw  Josey  coming  up  from  the  bank,  in 
a  lounging,  listless  manner,  as  if  he  was 
tired  of  his  fishing.  Oliver  called  out  to  him, 
in  a  loud  voice,  — 

“  Can’t  you  catch  any  fish,  Josey  ?  ” 

“  Yes,”  said  Josey,  “I’ve  caught  some 
more  ;  but  I’m  tired  of  fishing  now.  I  be¬ 
lieve  I  shall  go  home.” 

Josey  lounged  about  among  the  bushes  a 
few  minutes,  and  then  he  came  to  Jonas,  and 
wanted  to  know  if  he  would  lend  him  an  axe 
a  little  while. 

“  What  for?  ”  asked  Jonas. 

“  I  want  to  cut  me  a  fishing-pole.  I  have 
found  an  excellent  one,  and  I  shall  want  it 
the  next  time  I  go  a- fishing.” 

“  Well,”  said  Jonas,  “it  is  a  good  plan  to 
look  out  for  the  future.  Only  you  must 
bring  the  axe  back,  and  put  it  in  the  cart 
again.” 

“Yes,”  said  Josey,  “I  will.” 


85 


josey’s  promises. 

So  Josey  took  the  axe  out  of  the  cart,  and 
went  to  the  bank  with  it.  In  about  a  quarter 
of  an  hour  after,  the  boys  saw  him  walking 
along  towards  home.  Oliver  called  out  to 
him,  — 

“  Josey  !  ” 

“  What  ?  ”  said  Josey. 

“  Where’s  the  axe  ?  ” 

•  — 

“  It’s  down  there  by  the  bank.  You’ll 
find  it  under  the  bushes.” 

“  But  you  promised  to  bring  it  back,”  said 
Jonas. 

“  Well  —  but  I  can’t  go  back  now  for  it. 
I’m  tired.” 

“But  you  promised,”  said  Jonas. 

“No,”  said  Josey.  “  You  told  me  I  must 
bring  it  back,  but  I  didn’t  promise  that  I 
would.” 

Josey  stood  still  a  moment,  listening,  after 
he  had  said  this,  but  he  could  only  hear  that 
Jonas  and  Oliver  were  talking  together  in 
their  ordinary  voice ;  he  couldn’t  hear  what 
they  said. 

Presently,  however,  Jonas  called  out  again, 

“  Josey !  ” 

“  What  ?  ”  said  Josey. 

“  Where  is  your  fishing-pole  ?  ” 

8 


86 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


‘  0,  it  wasn’t  good  for  any  thing,”  replied 
Josey.  “  I  found,  when  I  had  cut  it  down, 
that  it  was  crooked,  and  so  I  threw  it  into 
the  pond.” 

“  You  ought  to  bring  back  the  axe,”  said 
Jonas. 

“  No,”  said  Josey.  “  It  didn’t  do  me  any 
good,  because  the  pole  was  crooked,  and  so  I 
am  not  going  to  bring  it  back.” 

So  Josey  walked  away. 

“  Well,  Oliver,”  said  Jonas,  u  you  may  go 
and  get  the  axe  now ;  or  else  it  may  be 
forgotten.” 

So  Oliver  went  and  got  the  axe,  and  put  it 
into  the  cart,  and  then  the  boys  went  on 
with  their  ploughing. 


87 


CHAPTER  VI. 

SURGERY 

About  a  week  after  this,  the  farmer  sent 
Jonas  and  Oliver  to  plant  the  field  which 
they  had  ploughed.  It  was  to  be  planted 
with  potatoes.  They  took  the  potatoes  in  a 
cart.  Josey  wanted  to  go  with  them.  Jonas 
was  always  glad  to  have  Josey  go  with  him, 
although  he  was  a  very  troublesome  boy. 

There  were  two  reasons  why  Jonas  wished 
to  have  Josey  go  with  him  when  he  went  to 
work ;  one  was,  because  it  took  him  away 
from  the  house,  where  he  usually  made  more 
trouble  than  he  did  with  Jonas  in  the  field. 
The  other  reason  was,  that  Jonas  wanted 
him  to  correct  his  faults,  and  improve  in 
character ;  and  he  thought  that  he  could,  by 
kind  treatment,  united  with  firmness  and 
decision,  gradually  gain  an  influence  over 
him,  and  make  him  a  better  boy. 

Jonas  took  a  great  interest  in  subduing  the 
wild  and  rough  piece  of  ground,  which  the 


88 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


farmer  had  committed  to  his  charge  ;  but  he 
took  a  still  greater  interest  in  softening  the 
roughnesses  and  asperities  in  Josey’s  character. 
He  said  to  himself,  “  If  I  can  bring  the  field 
into  a  good  state  of  cultivation,  and  at  the 
same  time  soften  and  subdue  Josey’s  char¬ 
acter,  it  will  be  a  double  gain.”  So  he.  was 
always  glad  to  have  Josey  go  with  him  to 
the  field. 

And,  in  fact,  Josey  always  liked  to  go  with 
Jonas.  His  uncle  and  aunt  were  more  indul¬ 
gent  to  him,  but  they  were  sometimes  hasty. 
Jonas,  though  he  never  yielded  to  him  when 
he  was  wrong,  was  always  just.  Even  bad 
boys  like  to  be  under  a  steady  and  just  gov¬ 
ernment,  rather  than  an  indulgent  and  un¬ 
steady  one. 

Josey  had  improved  considerably  in  his 
habits  of  industry  in  the  course  of  the  week 
which  had  passed  ;  and  he  worked  very  per- 
severingly  with  Oliver,  dropping  the  potatoes 
while  Jonas  covered  them,  for  two  hours. 
He  then  began  to  be  tired,  and  said  that  he 
could  not  work  any  longer. 

“  Well,”  said  Jonas,  “  we  are  much  obliged 
to  you  for  helping  us  so  long.” 

u  And  now,”  said  Josey,  “  will  you  lend 


SURGERY. 


89 


me  your  knife,  Jonas  ?  I  am  going  down  by 
the  brook,  to  get  some  willows  to  make  a 
whistle.” 

Jonas  had  a  large  knife  with  two  blades. 
The  small  blade  was  for  mending  pens.  The 
large  one  was  for  cutting  wood.  Both  blades 
were*  always  kept  very  sharp. 

“  Haven’t  you  got  a  knife  ?  ”  said  Jonas. 

“Yes,”  said  Josey,  “but  it  won’t  cut.  I 
can’t  make  a  good  whistle,  unless  the  knife 
is  sharp.” 

“  Let  me  see,”  said  Jonas,  in  a  thoughtful 
tone,  as  if  considering ;  “I  wonder  whether 
you  can  find  my  knife  easily,  under  the 
bushes,  Oliver,  when  Josey  has  done  with  it.” 

“  Under  the  bushes  ?  ”  repeated  Josey. 

“Yes,”  said  Jonas,  “I  suppose  you’ll  lay 
it  down  under  the  bushes,  and  leave  me  to  go 
and  get  it.” 

“  O  no,”  said  Josey,  “  I’ll  bring  it  back  to 
you  safe.” 

“  That’s  just  what  you  said  about  the  axe, 
the  other  day,”  said  Jonas,  “  and  then  I  had 
to  send  Oliver  for  it.  So  it  won’t  do  for  me  to 
lend  you  any  thing,  unless  it  will  be  conve¬ 
nient  for  me  to  go  for  it,  or  to  send  for  it,  — 

S* 


90 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


and  unless  it  is  such  a  thing  as  can  be 
easily  found.” 

“  But.,  Jonas,”  said  Josey,  “  I  certainly  will 
bring  it  back  to  you.  I  won’t  lay  it  down 
at  all.” 

“  Haven’t  you  got  some  other  evidence  to 
give  me  that  you’ll  bring  it  back,  besides 
your  promise  ?  —  because,  you  know,  I  tried 
that  the  other  day,  and  found  it  wasn’t 
good.” 

“No,”  said  Josey,  “I  haven’t  got  any 
other  evidence,  of  course ;  but  I  certainly 
will  bring  it  back.” 

“  But  I  can’t  lend  you  my  knife  on  your 
promise  ;  for,  you  see,  I  tried  that,  and  found 
it  couldn’t  be  relied  upon.  And  unless  you 
have  some  other  security  to  offer  me,  I  can’t 
let  you  have  it.  I  must  be  sure  that  it  will 
be  safely  returned.  I  should  be  in  trouble 
if  I  should  lose  my  knife.” 

So  Jonas  went  on,  covering  his  potatoes, 
while  Josey  stood  by  in  silence.  At  length 
he  said, — 

“  Why,  Jonas,  what  other  security  can 
there  be  ?  ” 

“Sometimes,”  said  Jonas,  “when  men 


SURGERY. 


91 


whose  promises  are  good  for  nothing,  want 
to  borrow  any  thing,  they  leave  the  worth 
of  it  in  money  in  the  hands  of  those  they 
borrow  it  of,  with  the  condition  that,  if  tiiey 
don’t  return  it,  the  owner  of  the  thing  may 
keep  the  money.  That  is  called  giving  se¬ 
curity.  Now,  if  you  can  give  me  as  much 
money  as  the  knife  is  worth,  I  will  keep  it 
until  you  return  the  knife,  and  then  I  will 
give  it  back  to  you.” 

“  But  1  havn’t  got  any  money,”  said 
Josey. 

Here  Oliver  looked  up,  and  Jonas  smiled, 
but  he  did  not  say  any  thing. 

“  Then,”  said  Jonas,  continuing  the  con¬ 
versation,  “I  think  you  were  a  very  foolish 
boy  to  destroy  the  credit  of  your  promises. 
People  that  have  no  security  to  give,  ought 
to  be  very  careful  indeed  of  the  credit  of 
their  promises  ;  for  that  is  all  they  have  to 
offer  for  other  people  to  trust  to,  when  they 
lend  them  any  thing.  Y ou  were  not  so  cun¬ 
ning  as  Mr.  Check,  the  merchant,  was.” 

“Why?”  said  Josey  ;  “  what  did  he  do  ?  ” 

“  He  wanted  to  borrow  some  money  one 
day,  just  after  he  had  commenced  business, 
and  one  of  his  neighbors  lent  it  to  him.  He 


92 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


promised  to  pay  him  in  a  week.  When  the 
time  came,  it  was  very  inconvenient  for  him 
to  get  the  money  ;  but  he  said,  “  I  had  better 
sell  the  most  valuable  merchandise  I  have 
got,  at  almost  any  price,  and  get  the  money, 
and  so  that  will  establish  the  credit  of  my 
promises ;  and  then  people  will  lend  to  me 
again,  when  I  want  to  borrow.  I’ll  let 
them  know  that  when  I  promise  they  may 
depend  upon  it,  and  then  they  won’t  want 
any  other  security.” 

“  And  did  he  ?  ”  asked  Josey. 

“Yes,”  said  Jonas ;  “he  got  the  money, 
and,  by  always  doing  so,  he  got  the  credit  of 
his  promise  up  so  high,  that  he  could  borrow 
any  sum  that  he  needed,  upon  his  promise 
alone.  But  a  neighbor  of  his,  who  did  not 
keep  his  promises,  whenever  he  wanted  to 
borrow  anything,  was  always  obliged  to  give 
the  man  he  borroAved  of,  some  security. 

“And  now,”  continued  Jonas,  “  if  you  have 
got  nothing  but  your  word  to  give  to  people, 
when  you  want  to  borrow  any  thing,  I  think 
you  were  very  foolish  to  spoil  the  credit  of 
it,  just  to  save  yourself  the  trouble  of  going 
a  few  steps  after  an  axe.” 

Josey  paused  a  few  moments,  following 


SURGERY. 


93 


Jonas,  as  he  advanced  with  his  work,  from 
hill  to  hill,  and  then  said,  — 

“Come,  Jonas,  I  wish  you  would  lend  it 

\ 

to  me,  and  see  if  I  won’t  bring  it  back.  Just 
try  me.” 

“  I  have  tried  you,”  said  Jonas. 

“  But  try  me  once  more,”  said  Josey. 

“  Suppose  that  you  had  tried  a  piece  of 
twine  for  a  fishing-line,  and  it  broke  the  first 
time  you  got  a  fish  hooked ;  would  you  try 
another  length  of  the  same  line  again,  ivith  a 
good  hook  and  sinker  at  the  end  of  it?  ” 

“  Why,  no,”  said  Josey. 

“  But,  then,”  he  continued,  in  a  very  posi¬ 
tive  tone,  “  I  certainly  will  bring  it  back, 
if  you  will  lend  it  to  me.” 

“  There’s  one  thing  I  wish  you  would  do,” 
said  Jonas. 

“  What  ?  ”  said  Josey. 

“It  would  save  me  some  trouble,”  said 
Jonas. 

“  What  is  it  ?  ”  said  Josey. 

“  Why,  just  make  up  your  mind  how 
many  times  you  are  going  to  ask  me  for  my 
knife,  and  then  ask  away  as  fast  as  you  can,  so 
that  I  can  answer  all  the  requests  together.” 

Jonas  smiled  good-naturedly,  as  he  said 


94 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


this,  and  Josey  perceived  that  importunity 
was  altogether  lost  upon  him.  So  he  turned 
away,  and  walked  off  towards  the  brook,  to 
see  if  he  couldn’t  find  some  other  amusement 
besides  making  whistles. 

In  about  an  hour  after  this,  the  attention 
of  both  Jonas  and  Oliver  was  arrested,  by 
hearing  a  loud  outcry  in  the  direction  where 
Josey  had  gone. 

“  Run,  and  see  what’s  the  matter,  Oliver,” 
said  Jonas.  “  He  has  hurt  himself.” 

Oliver  put  down  the  basket  of  potatoes 
from  which  he  was  planting,  and  ran  off  to 
the  bank,  while  Jonas  went  on  with  his 
work.  Presently,  however,  Jonas  heard  Oli¬ 
ver  calling  him.  He  looked  up,  and  saw 
Oliver  standing  upon  the  bank,  and  beckon¬ 
ing  to  him. 

Jonas  laid  down  his  hoe,  and  went  to  the 
place. 

“  He  has  hurt  his  foot,”  said  Oliver,  as 
Jonas  approached. 

Jonas  saw  that  Josey  was  sitting  upon  the 
bank,  with  his  feet  bare,  and  his  pantaloons 
turned  up  nearly  to  his  knees.  He  had  been 
wading  in  the  brook,  and  had  run  a  small, 


SURGERY. 


95 


sharp  piece  of  wood  into  his  foot.  Jonas 
stooped  down  to  examine  it. 

“  There  is  a  piece  of  wood  or  something 
in  it,  and  you  must  let  me  take  it  out.” 

So  saying,  he  put  his  hand  in  his  pocket, 
and  took  out  his  knife,  and  opened  the  small 
blade. 

“No,”  said  Josey,  crying,  and  drawing 
away  his  foot,  —  “no  ;  you  must  not  touch 
it ;  it  aches  ;  O  !  how  it  aches  !  ” 

“  I  know  it  does  ;  but  let  me  take  out  the 
thorn,  and  then  it  will  get  well.” 

But  Josey  absolutely  refused  to  have  it 
touched.  He  seemed  to  be  in  great  pain, 
and  Jonas,  after  endeavoring  to  persuade  him 
to  consent  to  have  the  cause  of  the  pain  ex¬ 
tracted,  said,  “  Then  we  must  get  you  home.” 

“  But  I  can’t  walk,”  said  Josey. 

“  Then  I’ll  carry  you.  You  may  get  upon 
my  back,  and  I’ll  carry  you.” 

Josey  accordingly,  after  some  difficulty  and 
delay,  mounted  upon  his  back,  and  was  car¬ 
ried  towards  home.  He  was  very  much 
afraid  that  he  should  fall  off  into  the  water, 
as  they  were  crossing  the  brook  upon  the 
logs ;  but  Jonas  said  that  he  would  be  very 
careful.  Jonas  had  to  stop  once  or  twice  to 


96 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


rest  j  and  then,  when  he  had  got  about  half 
way  home,  the  farmer  himself  overtook  him, 
in  a  wagon.  He  was  coming  from  another 
field,  where  he  had  been  to  carry  some  oats 
to  be  sown. 

The  farmer  inquired  what  was  the  matter, 
and  Jonas  explained  the  case.  Then  the 
farmer  took  Josey  into  his  wagon,  saying 
that  he  would  carry  him  the  rest  of  the  way, 
and  that  Jonas  might  go  back  to  his  work. 
Jonas  accordingly  went  back,  and  he  saw  no 
more  of  Josey  until  he  went  home  to  dinner. 

When  he  and  Oliver  came  in  at  dinner-  • 
time,  he  found  Josey  sitting  in  one  chair, 
and  with  his  foot  up  in  another ;  and  his 
uncle  and  aunt  over  him,  trying  to  per¬ 
suade  him  to  have  the  thorn,  or  whatever  it 
was  that  was  in  his  foot,  pulled  out. 

“  It  won't  hurt  you  at  all,”  said  his  aunt ; 
u  will  it,  Jonas  ?  ”  said  she,  appealing  to  Jonas, 
when  she  saw  him  come  in. 

Jonas  did  not  answer  this  question  directly, 
but  he  and  Oliver  advanced  to  Josey’s  chair, 
and  asked  him  if  his  foot  felt  any  better. 

“  Yes,”  said  Josey,  “  it  feels  a  little  better  ; 
but  it  aches  most  dreadfully  yet.” 

“  And  he  won’t  have  the  thorn  taken  out,” 


SURGERY. 


97 


said  his  uncle.  “  It  will  only  grow  worse, 
ill  he  has  it  out.” 

“  O  dear  !  ”  said  Josey,  groaning. 

“Come,  Josey,”  said  his  uncle,  “let  us 
lake  the  thorn  out :  it  won’t  hurt  you ;  will 
jt,  Jonas  ?  ” 

Jonas  hesitated.  At  length  he  said,  “  Not 
more  than  he  can  bear,  I  should  think.” 

“  No,”  said  Josey,  “  it  will  hurt  me  a  great 
deal.  I  know  it  will.  I  can’t  have  it  out.” 

“  What  shall  we  do  with  the  boy  ?  ”  said 
his  uncle,  turning  round  to  Jonas. 

“  I  think,  sir,”  said  Jonas,  “  if  you  would 
hold  him  by  the  shoulders,  and  let  Amos 
hold  his  foot,  I  could  take  the  stub  right  out.” 

So  saying,  Jonas  took  out  his  knife,  and 
opened  the  little  blade,  by  way  of  showing 
that  he  was  all  ready. 

Josey  eyed  the  knife  with  a  look  of  some 
alarm.  He  knew  very  well  that  the  point 
of  it  was  as  sharp  as  a  lancet. 

“  Well,”  said  Josey’s  uncle,  “  that’s  good 
advice.  Amos,  come  here.” 

Amos,  who  was  seated  at  the  other  side  of 
he  room,  with  his  chair  leaning  back  against 
he  wall,  here  rose  and  came  forward. 

“  Won’t  you  just  hold  the  boy’s  foot  ?  ” 

9 


98  JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 

/ 

Amos  grasped  the  wounded  limb  at  the 
ankle,  with  a  gripe  like  that  of  a  vice, 
while  the  farmer  himself  held  Josey  firmly 
by  the  shoulders.  Josey.  finding  himself  so 
pinioned,  began  to  scream  with  vexation  and 
terror,  struggling  to  release  himself  from  the 
grasp,  and  kicking  with  the  foot  which  had 
been  left  free. 

“  Oliver/5  said  the  farmer,  “come  and  see 
if  you  can’t  hold  his  other  foot.55 

Oliver  came  up  at  once,  and  seized  the 
other  foot,  although  he  was  hardly  strong 
enough  to  hold  it.  Josey  writhed  and 
struggled  to  get  free,  and  cried  louder  and 
louder. 

“Now,  Josey,55  said  Jonas,  “if  you  hold 
still,  it  will  not  hurt  you  so  much.55 

Jonas  said  this  just  as  he  was  bringing 
the  knife  up  to  begin  the  operation.  He 
did  not  think  that  there  was  probability 
enough,  that  such  an  argument  would  have 
any  effect,  to  make  it  worth  while  to  delay 
his  work  to  present  it.  The  stub,  as  Jonas 
called  it,  was  taken  out  in  a  moment. 

Josey  struggled  incessantly  during  the 
whole  operation,  being  determined  not  to 
submit.  His  struggles  had  no  effect,  excep* 


SURGERY. 


99 


✓ 

that  poor  Oliver  was  almost  kicked  over  by 
them. 

“  There,”  said  Jonas,  “it  is  out.” 

Then  the  farmer,  and  Amos,  and  Oliver, 
all  let  go  of  Josey,  and  his  cries  gradually 
ceased. 

“  Did  it  hurt  you  much  ?  ”  said  his  aunt. 

“Yes,”  said  Josey,  in  a  tone  of  great  dis¬ 
pleasure,  “  it  almost  killed  me.” 

“  I’m  sorry,”  said  Jonas ;  “  but  it  will  feel 
better  now,  I  think,  pretty  soon.” 

“  I  don’t  believe  it  will,”  said  Josey.  “  It 
aches  worse  than -'it  did  before.” 

Josey ’s  saying  this,  however,  was  only  the 
result  of  ill-humor.  It  did  not  ache  worse 
than  it  did  before ;  and  in  a  few  days  it  was 
entirely  well. 


100 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  MOUNTAINS. 

One  evening,  when  Jonas  had  got  through 
with  his  work,  he  was  sitting  upon  the  step 
of  the  door,  looking  towards  the  garden. 
The  garden  was  behind  the  house.  The 
seeds  had  been  planted  in  it  a  few  days  be¬ 
fore.  There  was  a  little  gate  which  led  into 
the  garden. 

While  he  was  sitting  here,  the  garden  gate 
opened,  and  a  little  girl  came  out.  She  was 
the  farmer’s  daughter.  She  was  about  six 
years  old.  She  had  been  planting  beans  in 
a  small  bed  in  a  corner,  which  Jonas  had 
given  her  for  her  garden.  Her  name  was 
Amelia. 

Amelia  came  running  up  to  Jonas,  and 
said,  — 

“  Jonas  !  Jonas  !  come  out  here  in  the  gar¬ 
den,  and  see  what  I  have  got.” 


THE  MOUNTAINS. 


101 


Jonas  was  tired  after  his  day’s  work,  and 
he  did  not  move  very  readily. 

“  What  is  it  that  you  have  got  ?  ”  said  he  ; 
“  have  your  beans  come  up  ?  ” 

“  O  no,”  said  Amelia,  “  that  isn’t  it.  It 
is  something  alive.” 

So  she  took  hold  of  Jonas’s  hand,  and  be¬ 
gan  to  pull  him  along. 

“  Come,  Jonas,”  said  she ;  “  you  don’t 
know  how  beautiful  he  is.” 

So  Jonas  arose,  and  walked  slowly  along, 
Amelia  pulling  him,  to  make  him  go  faster. 

“  If  it  is  any  thing  alive,”  said  Jonas, 
“  I’m  afraid  he’ll  be  gone  away  before 
we  get  there.” 

‘No,”  said  Amelia,  “he  can’t  get  away, 
possibly.” 

So  Amelia  opened  the  garden  gate,  and 
led  Jonas  through.  They  walked  along 
towards  Amelia’s  garden  ;  and,  when  they 
reached  it,  Amelia  looked  down  very  stead¬ 
ily  upon  the  ground,  in  silence. 

“  No,”  said  she,  “  he  is  not  here ;  he’s 
gone  away.” 

“  What  was  it  ?  ”  asked  Jonas. 

“  O,  a  beautiful  bug,”  said  Amelia.  “  I 
put  him  on  his  back,  so  that  he  could  not 

9* 


102  JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER, 

walk ;  but  I  suppose  he  has  got  over  on 
his  legs,  and  crawled  away.” 

Jonas  smiled,  and  then  turned  around,  and 
began  to  walk  back  towards  the  house.  He 
heard  voices  over  the  fence,  and,  walking  up 
to  the  place,  he  saw  Oliver  and  Josey  in  the 
wood-yard.  Oliver  was  trying  to  split  a  log 
of  wood  with  beetle  and  wedges,  and  Josey 
was  sitting  upon  another  ]og  very  near. 

“  1  don’t  believe  that  he  will  let  you  go,” 
said  Oliver. 

“Yes  he  will,”  said  Josey,  “if  Jonas 
asks  him.” 

“  I  don’t  believe  that  Jonas  will  ask  him,” 
said  Oliver. 

“  Ask  whom  ?  ”  said  Jonas.  “  What  is 
it?” 

The  boys  looked  up,  and  saw  Jonas  stand¬ 
ing  near  them. 

“Jonas,”  said  Oliver,  “what  do  you  think 
we’ve  got  to  do  to-morrow  ?  ” 

“  What  is  it  ?  ”  said  Jonas. 

“Why,  we’ve  got  to  drive  the  cattle  to 
pasture,”  replied  Oliver. 

“  They’re  in  pasture  now,”  replied  Jonas. 

“Yes,”  said  Oliver,  “but  I  mean  the 
mountain  pasture.” 


THE  MOUNTAINS. 


103 


“  The  mountain  pasture,”  repeated  Jonas  ; 
“  I  never  heard  of  the  mountain  pasture.” 

Oliver  then  explained  to  Jonas  what  he 
meant  by  the  mountain  pasture.  It  was  a 
pasture  away  up  the  sides  of  the  mountains, 
eight  or  ten  miles  distant ;  and  that  his  fa¬ 
ther  always  sent  a  part  of  his  stock,  every 
spring,  up  to  this  pasture,  and  then  had  them 
driven  home  again  in  the  fall. 

“  And  father  has  just  told  me,”  said  Oli¬ 
ver,  “  that  he  is  going  to  send  you  and  me  to 
drive  the  cattle  there  to-morrow.” 

“I  like  that,”  said  Jonas. 

“  Why?  ”  said  Josey. 

“  Why,  there  are  two  reasons,”  said  Jonas. 
“One  is,  that  I  make  it  a  rule  to  like  any 
thing  that  comes  along.” 

“  What  is  the  other?  ”  said  Josey. 

“  Why,  I  like  to  go  up  mountains,  espe¬ 
cially,”  said  Jonas. 

Oliver  said  that  he  was  very  glad  that 
they  were  going,  and  Josey  said  that  he 
wanted  to  go  too. 

“  But  Oliver,”  he  added,  “  says  that  you 
won’t  let  me.  Have  you  any  objection  to 
let  me  go,  Jonas  ?  ” 

“  No,”  said  Jonas,  “I  haven’t  any.” 


104*  JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 

“  I  said,”  rejoined  Oliver,  “  that  he  would 
not  ask  my  father  to  let  you  go.” 

“Well,  won’t  you,  Jonas  ?  ” 

“  No,”  said  Jonas,  “  I  can’t  ask  him.  He 
must  do  just  as  he  thinks  best  ;  only  I  will 
not  make  any  objection.” 

Josey  went  in  and  asked  his  uncle,  but  his 
uncle  said  no.  He  was  afraid  that  Josey 
would  make  some  difficulty  or  trouble. 

“  Do  let  me  go,  uncle,”  said  Josey.  “  1 
never  went  up  any  mountains.” 

“  No,”  replied  his  uncle.  “  They  will 
have  care  and  trouble  enough  from  the  cat¬ 
tle,  without  you.” 

“  But,  uncle,”  said  Josey,  “  I  won’t  be  any 
care  and  trouble.” 

His  uncle  did  not  answer,  but  walked 
away  ;  and  so  Josey  had  to  give  up  all  hope 
of  going. 

The  next  morning,  Jonas  and  Oliver  set 
out  on  their  expedition.  There  were  a  yoke 
of  oxen,  and  four  heifers  and  calves.  There 
were  also  three  colts  of  different  ages.  Jonas 
rode  upon  the  oldest  colt,  and  led  the  other 
two.  Oliver  rode  in  a  wagon.  The  oxen, 
heifers,  and  calves,  walked  on  before.  They 
had  put  into  the  wagon  a  stock  of  oats  in 


There  was  a  good  place  for  the  cattle  and  horses  to  drink,  by  the  side  of  the  bridge.”  —  Page  107. 


THE  MOUNTAINS. 


107 


bags,  to  feed  the  animals  with  on  the  way 
and  also  some  provision  for  themselves. 
Thus  prepared,  they  set  forth  about  half  an 
hour  before  sunrise,  while  Josey  was  still 
fast  asleep. 

For  some  miles,  the  drove  gave  the  boys 
a  great  deal  of  trouble.  The  calves  and 
heifers  rambled  on  this  side  of  the  road,  and 
on  that,  trying  to  escape  at  every  opportu¬ 
nity  ;  and  the  young  horses,  which  Jonas 
was  leading,  pulled  off  in  all  directions.  Jo¬ 
nas,  however,  told  Oliver  that  they  must  pro¬ 
ceed  very  slowly,  and  that,  after  a  time,  their 
drove  would  get  accustomed  to  the  road,  and 
would  move  on  more  steadily.  This  proved 
to  be  the  fact.  It  took  them  a  long  time 
to  go  the  first  mile  ;  but  the  second  mile 
they  accomplished  much  more  easily,  and 
after  that  they  had  no  more  trouble. 

They  had  no  trouble  excepting  that  they 
were  obliged  to  go  very  slow.  When  they 
had  gone  about  five  miles,  they  stopped  to  let 
the  animals  graze  a  little  while  by  the  road¬ 
side,  and  drink.  At  the  place  where  they 
stopped,  there  was  a  brook  with  a  bridge 
across  it,  and  a  good  place  for  the  cattle  and 
horses  to  drink,  by  the  side  of  the  bridge. 


108  JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 

Here  the  young  horses,  as  well  as  the 
oxen,  heifers,  and  calves,  ate  some  grass, 
drank  water  from  the  brook,  and  then  lay 
down  to  rest,  while  Jonas  and  Oliver  rested, 
too.  After  about  half  an  hour,  they  resumed 
their  journey,  and  went  about  five  miles  far¬ 
ther.  The  road  became  more  and  more  wild 
as  they  advanced.  The  hoys  found  that 
they  were  gradually  ascending  into  a  moun¬ 
tainous  region  of  country.  The  road  be¬ 
came  hilly,  sometimes  mounting  a  steep 
ascent,  and  at  others  skirting  along  under  a 
rocky  precipice. 

The  farm-houses  and  the  fences  became 
more  and  more  rude,  too,  as  well  as  the  coun¬ 
try.  Oliver  saw  one  covered  only  with  rough 
boards,  with  four  or  five  white-headed  little 
children  playing  before  the  door.  One  — 
a  little  girl  —  was  trying  to  cut  a  great  log  of 
wood  with  an  axe,  which  her  father  had  left 
there.  Oliver  was  very  much  afraid  that 
she  would  cut  her  feet,  which  were  bare, 
and  browned  with  the  sun.  At  the  next 
house,  Oliver  saw  a  large  pig  going  in  at  the 
front  door. 

At  length,  they  came  to  a  place  where  the 
farmer  had  told  them  that  they  would  be 


THE  MOUNTAINS. 


109 


obliged  to  leave  their  wagon,  because  there 
was  not  a  good  road  for  wheels  any  farther. 
It  was,  in  fact,  at  the  end  of  the  public  road. 
They  left  their  horse  and  wagon  at  a  farm¬ 
house  here,  giving  the  horse  some  hay, 
which  the  farmer  allowed  Jonas  to  get  out 
of  his  barn. 

Here  the  boys  let  their  drove  rest  a  short 
time,  and  then  they  took  down  a  pair  of  bars, 
near  the  barn,  belonging  to  this  farm-house, 
and  drove  the  cattle  through.  Here  they 
found  a  rough  road,  leading  farther  up 
among  the  mountains.  The  fields  on  each 
side  were  not  fenced  off  from  the  road,  and 
so  there  were  gates  and  bars  directly  across 
the  road,  at  various  places,  which  caused  the 
boys  some  trouble.  The  land  was  hilly,  and 
partly  covered  with  forests  ;  and  beyond  and 
above  them  they  could  see  the  rocky  sum¬ 
mits  of  the  mountains. 

“  What  a  rough  road  this  is !  ”  said  Oliver. 

“  Yes,”  said  Jonas,  “it  is  very  rough.” 

In  fact,  the  road  was  almost  filled  with 
great  stones,  of  all  shapes  and  sizes.  There 
were  a  great  many  more  stones  in  the  road, 
than  there  were  upon  the  ground  on  each 
side. 


10 


110  JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 

“I  don’t  see,”  said  Oliver,  “how  there 
came  to  be  so  many  stones  in  the  road.” 

“  Why,  you  see,”  said  Jonas,  “that  the 
water  from  the  melting  snows  and  rains 
pours  down  in  the  road  way,  and  washes 
out  the  earth  ;  but  out  at  the  sides,  the 
grass  protects  it.  It  can’t  wash  away.” 

“  And  do  you  suppose,”  said  Oliver,  “that 
there  are  as  many  stones  in  under  the  grass, 
all  around  the  fields  here,  as  there  are  in  the 
road  ?  ” 

“  Yes,”  said  Jonas,  “  I  have  no  doubt  of 
it.  In  all  these  mountains,  there  is  always  a 
vast  quantity  of  loose,  broken  stones  and 
rocks  under  the  soil.  So  the  grass  grows 
well  over  them,  but  it  is  hard  to  plough. 
That  is  one  reason  why  the  sides  of  the 
mountains  make  such  good  pastures.” 

“  And  what  other  reason  is  there  ?  ”  asked 
Oliver. 

“  Why,  the  ground  is  more  moist,  and  the 
grass  grows  greener  in  the  dry  summer 
months.” 

“  I  should  think  the  mountains  would  be 
drier,”  said  Oliver.  “  The  water  will  all 
run  off.” 

“  No,”  said  Jonas,  “  mountains  are  always 


THE  MOUNTAINS. 


Ill 


wet.  There  are  more  mists  and  rains  about 
the  summits  of  them,  and  the  water  soaks 
down,  and  then  oozes  out  among  the  stones, 
and  so  forms  springs  and  brooks,  and  makes 
the  grass  grow  green.  See !  there  is  one 
now.5’ 

So  saying,  Jonas  pointed  to  a  very  beautiful 
brook,  which  came  down  from  a  thicket  of 
trees,  upon  one  side  of  the  road.  It  was 
quite  broad,  and  the  bed  of  it  was  filled  with 
large  tufts  of  rich  green  moss,  around  and 
among  which  the  water  glided  beautifully. 

“  How  many  tufts  of  moss  !  ”  said  Oliver. 

“  Yes,”  said  Jonas,  u  under  every  one 
there  is  a  stone.” 

Oliver  ran  down,  and  pulled  up  one  of  the 
tufts  of  moss.  It  was  true,  as  Jonas  had  said. 
There  was  a  stone  under  it ;  and  Oliver 
found  that  the  whole  bed  of  the  brook  was 
filled  with  rocks,  all  of  which  were  com¬ 
pletely  covered  and  concealed  by  this  ver¬ 
dant  moss.  It  made  the  bed  of  the  brook 
look  beautifully. 

Oliver,  however,  could  not  stop  longer  to 
look  at  this  brook,  because  the  drove  had 
gone  on,  and  Jonas  was  going ;  and  he  did 
not  wish  to  be  left  behind. 


112  JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 

Before  long,  they  came  to  a  gate  across  Lie 
road.  Oliver  opened  the  gate,  and  Jonas 
drove  the  cattle  and  horses  through.  Then 
the  road  turned,  ascending  slowly  by  the 
side  of  a  great  hill,  with  woods  on  one 
side,  and  a  magnificent  view  of  the  coun¬ 
try  on  the  other.  They  were  up  so  high, 
that  they  could  see  a  great  distance.  After 
a  time,  the  road  became  level  again,  though 
there  were  high  hills  and  mountains  all 
around.  Here  was  one  more  farm-house, 
the  last  one  ;  and  the  fields  behind  it  extend¬ 
ed  back  a  little  way,  to  the  foot  of  the  steep 
and  rocky  declivity  of  the  mountains. 

Opposite  this  farm-house  was  a  fence, 
made  of  trees  and  bushes,  which  had  been 
cut  down  and  laid  along,  one  upon  the  other, 
in  such  a  way  that  the  cattle  could  not  get 
over  them.  In  one  place  were  a  pair  of  bars, 
where  the  cattle  were  to  be  turned  in.  Oli¬ 
ver  took  them  down,  and  Jonas  drove  the 
herd  through,  as  before.  On  the  other  side 
of  the  bars,  the  land  descended  a  little,  and 
there  was  a  path  which  led  to  a  small  brook, 
which  passed  across  this  corner  of  the  pas¬ 
ture.  The  animals  all  went  down  to  this 
brook  to  drink,  and  then  they  began  to  crop 


THE  MOUNTAINS. 


113 


the  short,  green  grass,  which  grew  abundant¬ 
ly  all  around. 

Beyond  the  brook,  the  land  rose  rapidly  to 
a  high  elevation,  which  was,  in  fact,  the  end 
of  a  lofty  ridge  of  land,  jutting  out  from  the 
still  higher  mountains  behind.  The  cattle 
path  led  up  this  elevation,  and  disappeared 
at  the  top  of  it.  Jonas  proposed  to  Oliver 
that  they  should  go  up  a  little  way,  and  see 
what  the  prospect  was.  Oliver  liked  the 
proposal  very  much. 

They  accordingly  went  over  the  brook, 
and  began  ascending  the  path.  It  was  steep 
and  rocky,  with  tall  ^veeds  and  bushes,  and 
sometimes  the  stumps  and  trunks  of  old,  de¬ 
cayed  trees  on  each  side.  The  path  in  one 
place  turned  into  the  forest  a  little  way ;  and 
both  Jonas  and  Oliver  were  impressed  with 
the  stillness  and  solemnity  of  the  scene.  The 
great  stems  of  the  trees,  rough  and  gnarled,  as¬ 
cended  to  a  vast  height,  and  their  tops  formed 
a  great,  shady  canopy,  which  produced  a 
sombre  sort  of  twilight  below.  Here  and 
there,  there  was  a  bird  on  some  lofty  branches 
of  a  tree,  singing  in  notes  very  clear,  but  yet 
of  so  mournful  and  lonely  an  expression,  that 

10* 


114  JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 

the  woods  seemed  only  the  more  solitary  for 
her  music.  Enormous  trees,  too,  which  had 
fallen  a  quarter  of  a  century  before,  lay  upon 
the  ground,  their  branches  decayed  and  gone, 
and  their  trunks  covered  with  moss  and 
lichens.  Others,  of  vast  size,  were  still  grow¬ 
ing,  —  pines  which,  Jonas  said,  were  fit  for 
mainmasts,  and  hemlocks,  and  firs ;  and 
there  was  one  great  birch-tree,  towering  over 
their  heads  like  a  lofty  column,  with  its 
trunk  completely  covered  with  peels  of  thin, 
paper-like  bark,  hanging  in  great  patches 
away  up  as  high  as  Oliver  could  see.  Jonas 
said  that  if  he  had  a  little  fire  to  light  it  at 
the  bottom,  the  tree  would  become  enveloped 
with  flames,  which  would  blaze  in  a  few 
minutes  from  the  root  away  up  to  the 
topmost  branches. 

In  a  very  few  minutes,  the  path  led  the 
boys  out  of  the  woods  again  ;  and,  as  they 
came  out,  they  found  themselves  near  the 
summit  of  the  eminence,  which  Jonas  had 
observed  when  hev  was  at  the  bars.  The 
boys  found  the  prospect  from  this  place  far 
more  magnificent  than  they  had  expected. 
Behind  them  were  vast  swells  of  land  cov¬ 
ered  with  forests,  and  rising  one  above 


THE  MOUNTAINS. 


115 


another  to  a  great  height,  and  crowned  at  last 
by  the  rocky  summits  of  the  mountains. 

On  the  other  side,  the  boys  looked  over  a 
vast  extent  of  country.  There  were  hills 
and  forests  far  below  them,  and  rivers  and 
ponds,  glittering  in  the  sun.  They  could 
look  down  upon  the  farmer’s  fields,  some 
green,  where  the  grass  was  growing,  some 
brown,  having  just  been  planted  or  sown  ; 
and  upon  the  openings,  extending  up  into  the 
forests,  on  the  sides  of  the  hills,  and  with  a 
perpendicular  wall  of  trees  all  around  them. 
There  was  one  great  field,  dotted  with  small, 
dark-green  spots,  which  Oliver  thought  must 
be  a  cornfield  ;  but  Jonas  told  him  it  was  an 
orchard  ;  —  and  another  square  patch  upon  a 
hill  side,  of  an  uncomonly  bright  and  florid 
green.  Jonas  said  it  was  a  piece  of  winter 
rye.  And  here  and  there,  around  the  horizon, 
a  great  smoke  curled  up  from  behind  the  trees, 
and  drifted  away  slowly  to  the  northward.  It 
was  where  the  people  were  burning  the  fallen 
trees,  in  the  new  clearings.  Jonas  saw  a 
pond,  too,  which  he  thought  was  the  one 
where  they  lived,  but  he  was  not  quite  sure. 

“We  could  tell,  if  we  had  a  spyglass,” 
said  he. 


116  JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 

“  Yes,”  said  Oliver,  “and  perhaps  we 
should  see  Josey  on  the  bank,  fishing.” 

After  a  short  time,  the  boys  returned. 
When  they  came  hack  to  the  bars,  they 
found  that  their  drove  were  all  busily  feed¬ 
ing,  except  two  young  calves,  and  they  had 
lain  down  to  rest.  As  they  were  climbing 
over  the  bars,  Jonas  paused,  sitting  upon  the 
uppermost  bar,  and  looked  back  towards  them. 

“Well,  Star,”  said  he,  “good-by, — and 
Line,  and  Cherry,  fare  ye  well.  Good-by, 
Chestnut,  and  May  Day,  and  Prince  Le 
Boo.  I  wish  yon.  all  a  happy  summer* 
You’ll  see  us  no  more  for  several  months  ;  — 
but  here  is  plenty  of  green  grass  for  you, 
and  cool  springs  and  brooks  for  you  to 
drink  from.  When  the  sun  is  hot,  go 
into  the  shady  woods,  and  lie  down  on  the 
leaves ;  and  when  it  rains,  you  must  get 
under  the  thickest  fir-trees  you  can  find. 
When  you  observe  that  the  nights  become 
frosty,  and  the  snow-squalls  begin  to  drift 
down  from  the  mountains,  then  you  may 
know  that  it  is  almost  time  for  us  to  come 
and  bring  you  home.” 

Oliver  listened  to  this  parting  address  with 
great  attention ;  but  the  oxen  and  calves 


TIIE  MOUNTAINS. 


117 


seemed  to  pay  no  regard  to  it  whatever. 
One  of  the  colts  raised  his  head  from  the 
ground,  and  turned  it  towards  the  hoys  for  a 
few  minutes,  while  Jonas  was  speaking,  as 
if  he  was  listening ;  but,  as  he  put  his  head 
down  again,  and  began  to  crop  the  grass  be¬ 
fore  Jonas  had  finished,  Oliver  thought  that 
he  did  not  seem  to  care  much  for  what  Jonas 
was  saying ;  so  the  boys  got  down  from  the 
bars,  and  began  to  walk  towards  home. 

After  walking  about  a  mile,  they  stopped 
at  a  farm-house  to  get  a  drink  of  water,  for 
Oliver  was  thirsty.  They  knocked  at  the 
door,  and  a  little  girl  came  out.  They 
asked  her  if  she  would  be  kind  enough  to 
give  them  some  water.  She  said  yes,  and 
went  in  to  get  a  mug.  While  she  was  gone, 
a  little  child,  just  old  enough  to  talk,  came  to 
see  who  was  there. 

“Well,  my  little  girl,”  said  Jonas,  “what 
is  your  name  ?  ” 

“  Mary,”  said  the  child.  And  she  stood 
holding  the  inner  door  open  a  little  way,  so 
that  she  could  see  them.  Oliver  looked  at 
Jonas,  and  smiled,  and  then  began  to  look 
about  the  yard.  There  was  a  great  pile  of 
wood  before  the  door,  and  a  cart ;  and 


118  JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 

stumps,  and  rocks,  and  logs,  were  scattered 
all  around.  The  house  was  small,  and  very 
rough  in  appearance,  and  the  garden  was 
rougher  still.  It  was  a  small  patch  of  heans 
and  other  vegetables,  in  a  corner  by  two  log 
fences. 

“I  have  got  a  little  brother,”  said  the 
child,  leaning  against  the  edge  of  the  door, 
and  swinging  it  back  and  forth  a  little. 

“  Have  you?”  said  Jonas.  “  What  is  his 
name  ?  ” 

“  He  hasn’t  got  any  name,”  said  the  child. 

“  Is  he  a  good  hoy  ?  ”  said  Jonas. 

“Yes,”  said  the  child,  “only  he  doubles 
up  his  fist  at  me,  sometimes.” 

“Ah!”  said  Jonas,  smiling.  “I  hope  he 
won’t  quarrel  with  you  when  he  grows 
bigger.” 

“I  take  care  of  him,”  said  the  child.  “  I 
keep  him  from  stifling  himself.  He  pulled 
the  blanket  all  up  over  his  face,  but  I  took  it 
away.” 

Just  at  this  moment,  Oliver,  who  had  be¬ 
gun  to  wonder  why  the  girl  did  not  bring 
them  the  water,  happened  to  turn  around, 
and  he  saw  her  coming  along  a  little  path, 
which  led  down  among  some  bushes  by  the 


THE  MOUNTAINS. 


119 


% 


side  <$f  the  house.  She  was  bringing  the 
mug  full  of  water  very  carefully.  She 
went  in  at  a  back  door,  and  presently  came 
through  to  the  front  door,  and  gave  both 
Jonas  and  Oliver  some  drink.  They  thanked 
her,  and  then  walked  on. 

In  a  short  time,  they  came  to  the  place 
where  they  had  left  the  horse  and  wagon. 
The  horse  neighed  when  he  saw  them  com¬ 
ing.  He  had  finished  eating  his  hay.  Jo¬ 
nas  harnessed  him  into  the  wagon  again, 
and  then  they  set  out,  and,  having  now  no 
drove  before  them,  the  horse  trotted  on  rap¬ 
idly,  and  they  reached  home  safely  about 
sundown. 


120 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  CHASE. 

Oliver’s  father  had  a  field  not  very  far 
from  his  house,  which  bordered  on  the  pond ; 
and  at  one  side  of  it  was  a  little  cove,  where 
there  was  a  landing.  The  cove  was  sur¬ 
rounded  by  maple  and  elm-trees,  and  it  had 
a  beautiful  sandy  beach.  It  was  a  very 
pleasant  place.  There  was  a  cart  road  lead¬ 
ing  from  this  cove  up  to  the  house.  The 
farmer  had  a  boat.  It  was  of  the  kind  called 
a  canoe.  It  was  made  of  the  trunk  of  a 
large  tree,  formed  into  the  shape  of  a  boat, 
and  hollowed  out.  It  was  large  and  well 
shaped,  and  it  had  three  seats.  One  would 
not  have  supposed  that  so  good  a  boat  could 
have  been  made  of  a  single  log. 

This  boat  was  new  and  strong  ;  but  there 
was  another  one,  old  and  worn  out,  which 
had  been  some  time  since  condemned,  and 
was  drawn  up  under  the  bushes  at  the  cove, 


THE  CHASE. 


121 


where  it  had  been  lying  for  a  long  time  bot¬ 
tom  upwards. 

One  day,  when  Jonas  was  at  work  in  this 
field,  he  had  a  singular  adventure  with  Josey 
and  these  two  boats.  It  was  as  follows  :  — 

They  were  .hoeing  corn  in  the  field.  The 
corn  was  about  three  inches  high.  Jonas 
took  four  rows,  Oliver  two,  and  Josey  one, 
and  they  worked  along  together  so,  for  a 
time ;  and  at  last  Josey  said  that  he  was 
tired.  There  was  a  good  fresh  breeze  blow¬ 
ing  off  towards  the  pond,  which  made  the 
water  look  dark  and  rough  ;  and  this  breeze 
made  it  very  cool  and  pleasant  for  their 
work ;  and  yet  Josey  complained  that  he 
was  tired,  and  said  he  was  going  down  to 
the  cove  to  rest  a  few  minutes,  and  then  he 
would  come  back. 

iC  Do  you  think  he  will  come  back  again  ?  ” 
said  Oliver. 

11  No,”  said  Jonas,  11 1  don’t  think  he  will.” 

In  a  short  time,  however,  Oliver  looked 
up  from  his  work,  and  saw  Josey  coming 
out  of  the  bushes,  by  the  shore  of  the  pond. 

“  He  is  coming,”  said  Oliver. 

But  Josey,  instead  of  coming  back  to  his 
work,  walked  along  towards  a  cart,  which 

II 


122  JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 

i '  - 

stood  by  the  bars,  that  led  into  the  field. 
The  cart  had  some  tools  in  it.  Josey  went 
to  it,  and  took  out  an  axe. 

“  Jonas,”  said  he,  “  l!m  going  to  take  this 
axe  a  minute  or  two.” 

u  But  your  uncle  said,”  answered  Jonas. 
“  that  you  must  not  have  the  axe.” 

“  No,”  said  Josey,  a  he  only  said  you 
must  not  lend  it  to  me.” 

“  Well,”  said  Jonas. 

“You  are  not  lending  it  to  me.  I’m  ta¬ 
king  it  without.” 

So  Josey  walked  off  towards  the  pond 
with  the  axe,  and  Jonas  and  Oliver  resumed 
their  work. 

“  You’d  better  go  and  take  it  away  from 
him,”  said  Oliver. 

“I  don’t  certainly  know  whether  I  ought 
to  take  it  away  or  not,”  said  Jonas.  “  Your 
father  told  me  not  to  lend  it  to  him  ;  but  he 
did  not  say  that  I  must  take  it  away,  if  he 
got  it  himself,  without  leave.  I  don’t  know 
whether  I  ought  to  go  and  take  it  away,  or 
only  report  him  to  your  father  when  I  go 
home.” 

11 1  think  you  ought  to  go  and  take  it 
away,”  said  Oliver. 


THE  CHASE. 


123 


On  further  reflection,  Jonas  concluded  that 
he  ought  to  consider  the  farmer’s  direction 
as  an  intrusting  the  axe  to  his  charge,  and 
that  he  ought  to  go  and  get  the  axe,  — at 
least  try  to  see  if  he  could  get  it  peaceably. 
So  he  left  his  hoe,  and  went  down  to  the  cove. 

He  found  that  Josey  had  just  cut  down  a 
small  fir-tree,  about  -  as  high  as  a  man’s  head, 
and  having  branches  very  thick  and  bushy. 
He  was  just  trimming  off  some  of  the  lower¬ 
most  branches. 

“  Josey,”  said  Jonas,  u  you  must  give  me 
back  that  axe.” 

“  Well,”  said  Josey,  “  I’ve  done  with  it.” 

So  Josey  tossed  the  axe  over  towards 
Jonas. 

“  What  are  you  going  to  do  with  that 
bush  ?  ” 

“  I  am  going  to  hoist  it  up  in  the  boat  for 
a  sail,”  answered  Josey. 

“But  you  must  not  go  oft’ in  the  boat,” 
said  Jonas. 

“  No,  I’m  not  going  off.  I  am  going  to  let 
it  be  tied  to  the  shore  ;  only  I’m  going  to 
sail  out  as  far  as  the  rope  will  reach.” 

Jonas  advised  him  to  be  very  careful,  and 
then  he  went  back  to  his  work. 


124  JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 

Now  there  was  a  round  hole  bored  in  the 
forward  seat  of  the  boat,  and  beneath  it  a 
little  socket,  in  the  bottom  of  it.  This  was 
for  the  purpose  of  supporting  such  a  bush,  in 
an  upright  position,  so  that  the  wind  might 
blow  the  boat  along.  Amos  used  sometimes 
to  go  out  upon  the  pond  on  fishing  excur¬ 
sions,  and  he  had  made  the  hole  so  that  he 
could  put  in  a  bush,  and  be  driven  along  a 
little  by  the  wind,  when  it  was  fair.  Josey 
dragged  his  bush  into  the  boat,  and  then,  by 
great  labor,  he  succeeded  in  hoisting  it  up,  so 
as  to  insert  the  lower  end  into  the  hole  in  the 
seat  ;  and  then  he  let  the  stem  slide  down, 
until  the  end  came  down  to  the  bottom  of 
the  boat,  when  he  entered  it  into  the  socket, 
and  that  kept  it  firmly  in  its  place. 

He  then  attempted  to  sail  about  a  little  ; 
but  lie  found  that  the  rope,  by  which  the 
boat  was  confined,  was  so  short  that  he  could 
not  move  but  very  little.  So  he  went  up  to 
the  house,  and  got  a  long  line,  which  he  found 
in  the  shed.  It  was  an  old  clothes  line, 
with  ragged  ends,  and  many  knots  along  its 
length.  He  thought,  however,  that  it  was 
strong  enough,  and  he  carried  it  down  to  the 
cove.  He  tied  one  end  of  this  to  the  stake 


THE  CHASE. 


125 


on  the  shore,  to  which  the  boat  had  been 
fastened,  and  the  other  end  he  tied  around 
the  seat,  which  was  nearest  the  stem  of  the 
boat.  Then  he  untied  the  painter  from  the 
stake,  and  threw  it  into  the  boat.  The  pain¬ 
ter  is  a  short  rope,  with  the  end  secured  to  a 
ring  in  the  bows  of  the  boat,  and  is  used  to 
fasten  the  boat  to  the  shore. 

The  boat  now,  instead  of  having  its  bows 
fastened  to  the  shore  by  the  painter,  was  at¬ 
tached  by  its  stern,  and  by  means  of  the  old 
line.  And  as  this  line  was  much  longer,  it 
would  allow  Josey  to  sail  out  a  considerable 
distance  into  the  cove,  bows  foremost.  Josey 
would  sit  still  in  the  middle  of  the  boat, 
while  the  wind  blew  him  out  as  far  as  the 
line  would  allow  him  to  go,  —  and  then  he 
would  work  back  with  his  paddle  to  the 
shore  again,  when  he  was  ready  for  a 
new  sail. 

Things  went  on  safely  in  this  way  for 
some  time,  when,  at  length,  Jonas  and  Oliver, 
who  were,  during  the  interval,  occupied  with 
their  work,  heard  an  outcry. 

“  What  is  that?  ”  said  Oliver. 

“It  must  be  that  Josey  has  got  into  some 
difficulty,”  said  Jonas. 

11* 


126 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


Here  they  heard  another  cry;  loud  and 
long  —  “  Jo  —  nas  !  Jo  —  nas  !  ”  It  sound¬ 
ed  like  a  cry  of  distress  and  terror. 

Jonas  dropped  his  hoe,  and  ran  diagonally 
across  the  rows  of  corn,  leaping  over  the  hills 
in  long  strides,  until  he  reached  the  cove. 
Oliver  followed  him  as  fast  as  he  could. 

Jonas  scrambled  through  the  bushes,  and 
came  out  upon  the  beach.  Here  he  at  once 
saw  what  was  the  difficulty.  Josey  was 
adrift.  His  line  had  broken,  when  his  boat 
was  out  at  the  end  of  it,  and  the  wind, 
pressing  hard  upon  the  bush,  had  forced  him 
out  of  the  cove.  He  had  tried  hard  to  get 
back  by  means  of  his  paddle,  before  calling 
for  help ;  but  the  wind  was  too  strong  for 
him,  and,  as  he  worked  out  from  under  the 
lee  of  the  cove,  the  force  of  it  became  more 
and  more  evident.  In  fact,  he  found  himself 
drifting  fast  out  from  the  shore,  with  the 
broad  and  angry-looking  pond  all  before  him. 

When  Jonas  reached  the  beach,  he  was 
crying,  and  calling  “Jonas”  in  great  terror. 

“  O  dear  !  ”  said  Josey,  “  O  dear !  what  shall 
I  do  ?  I’m  blown  away;  I’m  blown  away.” 

“Josey,”  said  Jonas,  “don’t  be  afraid; 
there’s  no  danger.  If  you  get  blown  away 


THE  CHASE. 


127 


across  the  pond,  I’ll  come  round  and  get  you 
with  the  wagon.” 

“  O,  stop  me,  stop  me !  ”  cried  Josey,  not 
paying  any  heed  to  what  Jonas  said ;  “  do 
come  and  stop  me.” 

Jonas  looked  on  a  moment  in  silence, 
thinking  that  it  was  utterly  impossible  to  do 
any  thing  to  rescue  Josey.  Oliver  stood  by 
his  side,  with  a  countenance  expressive  of 
great  anxiety  and  concern.  He  present¬ 
ly  said,  — 

“  There’s  that  old  boat,  Jonas.” 

And,  as  he  said  this,  he  pointed  to  the 
old  boat,  which  was  lying  bottom  upwards, 
under  the  bushes. 

Jonas  instantly  ran  to  the  boat,  and  turned 
it  over. 

“  Yes,”  said  he,  “this  will  do.” 

“  It  is  very  leaky,”  said  Oliver. 

“  I  can  bail  it,”  replied  Jonas.  “  Run,  Oli¬ 
ver,  to  the  cart,  and  bring  me  the  axe.” 

Oliver  ran  off  after  the  axe. 

“  Bring  the  shovel  too,”  said  Jonas,  call¬ 
ing  out  to  him  as  he  was  running  across  the 
field. 

While  he  was  gone,  Jonas  continued  to 
drag  the  old  boat  to  the  edge  of  the  water. 


128  JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


Then  he  called  out  to  Josey.  J;Jo —  sey,” 
said  he,  in  a  loud  voice,  for  Josey  had  now 
drifted  out  to  a  considerable  distance,  so  that 
it  was  with  difficulty  that  he  could  hear 
him. 

“  What  ?  ”  answered  Josey. 

“  Don’t  be  afraid,  Josey.  I  am  coming 
after  you.” 

The  next  moment,  he  called  out  again, 
“  Jo  —  sey  ?  ” 

11  What 1  ”  said  Josey  again. 

11  Tie  the  end  of  the  painter  to  your  bush, 
just  above  the  lowest  branch.” 

u  What  for  ?  ”  cried  out  Josey. 

u  O  —  bey  !  ”  vociferated  Jonas.  —  “  Don’t 
stop  to  ask  questions.” 

Josey  then  appeared  busy  for  a  time  with 
the  rope ;  and  then  he  stood  up  in  the  boat, 
and  called  out,  — 

“  I  have  done  it,  Jonas.” 

“  Now  lift  the  bush  up  out  of  the  socket, 
and  heave  it  overboard.” 

So  Josey,  by  dint  of  great  effort,  succeeded 
in  hoisting  up  the  heavy  bush,  and  tumbling 
it  over  the  side.  He  very  soon  perceived 
what  was  Jonas’s  object  in  these  orders ;  for 
the  boat,  which  had  been  drawn  rapidly 


THE  CHASE. 


129 


through  the  water,  bows  foremost,  by  the 
force  of  the  wind  upon  the  bush,  which  was 
near  the  bows,  was  now  checked,  when  the 
bush  was  in  the  water.  It  now  held  the 
boat  back,  instead  of  impelling  it ;  for,  drag¬ 
ging  in  the  water,  it  checked  the  motion  of 
the  boat,  being  fastened  to  the  bows  by 
means  of  the  painter ;  and  the  stern,  accord¬ 
ingly,  being  free,  and  acted  upon  by  the  wind, 
drifted  round ;  and  so  the  boat  was  driven, 
now,  stern  foremost,  and  much  more  slowly. 

In  the  mean  time,  Jonas  cut  down  another 
large  bush,  for  his  boat,  and  secured  it  in  a 
perpendicular  position,  by  means  of  such  a 
hole  and  socket  as  there  were  in  the  other 
boat  He  then  pushed  the  boat  off  into  the 
water. 

Jonas  found  that  it  was  indeed  quite  leaky, 
and  there  was  a  large  piece  stove  in,  near  the 
bows.  Jonas  got  in  cautiously,  taking  the 
shovel  in  his  hand.  He  found  that  he  had  to 
sit  back  pretty  well  towards  the  stern  of  the 
boat,  to  keep  the  damaged  part,  at  the  bows, 
out  of  water.  He  paddled  with  his  shovel, 
and  very  soon  got  out,  when  the  bush  began 
to  take  the  wind.  This  drove  the  boat  faster, 


130 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


but  at  the  same  time  it  pressed  the  bows 
down,  so  as  to  let  the  water  in  at  the  gap 
forward.  Jonas  had  to  sit  back  farther  j 
and  at  last  he  found  it  was  necessary  for  him 
to  keep  close  into  the  stern,  in  order  to  keep 
the  bows  up  sufficiently.  As  it  was,  a  good 
deal  of  water  came  in,  and  Jonas  had  to  stop 
his  paddling  from  time  to  time,  and  bail  it 
out  with  his  shovel. 

All  this,  however,  did  not  discourage  him  ; 
for  he  found  that  he  was  gaining  upon  Josey. 
He  called  out  to  him,  — 

“  Josey !  never  fear ;  I  shall  soon  get  up  to 
you.” 

Josey,  in  fact,  had  become  quite  composed, 
and  sat  in  the  inside  of  his  boat,  watching 
Jonas’s  progress,  as  he  came  nearer  and  nearer. 
Never  was  a  boy  pursued  so  desirous  of  be¬ 
ing  caught. 

Jonas  could  direct  the  course  of  his  boat 
considerably  by  paddling  with  his  shovel. 
He  had  no  other  paddle.  Josey  had  the  only 
one  in  his  boat.  As  he  drew  nearer  and 
nearer,  he  perceived  an  expression  of  great 
satisfaction  and  pleasure  upon  Josey’s  face,  as 
he  sat  watching  his  approach.  At  length,  he 


THE  CHASE. 


131 


brought  his  boat  fairly  up  alongside  of  the 
one  which  Josey  was  in,  and,  reaching  out 
his  shovel,  he  drew  them  together. 

Jonas  then  first  raised  his  bush  out  of  its 
place,  and  threw  it  overboard.  Then  he 
stepped  over  into  Josey ’s  boat,  keeping  hold 
of  his  own.  Then  he  drew  Josey ’s  bush  up 
to  the  boat,  and,  loosening  the  rope  from  it, 
he  cast  the  bush  adrift. 

“Now,”  said  he,  “we  are  free;  and  we 
will  see  if  we  can  get  back  again.” 

“How  are  you  going  to  get  back?  ”  said 
Josey. 

“I’m  going  to  paddle,”  said  Jonas ;  and  he 
took  his  seat  in  the  stern  of  the  boat,  and 
took  the  paddle  in  his  hands. 

“You,  Josey,”  he  continued,  “must  keep 
hold  of  the  old  boat,  so  that  we  may  tow 
that  back  with  us.” 

“  O  no,”  said  Josey ;  “  the  old  boat  isn’t 
good  for  any  thing.  Let  it  go.” 

“  Not  good  for  any  thing !  ”  repeated  Jonas  j 
“  and  here  you  are,  saved  from  being  blown 
nobody  knows  where  by  it.  Besides,  it  is 
your  uncle’s  property,  and  we  must  take 
good  care  of  it,  and  put  it  back  where  we 
found  it.” 


132  JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 

Josey  accordingly  held  on  by  the  boat 
while  Jonas  sat  in  the  stern,  and  paddled. 
He  found  it  difficult  to  make  much  headway, 
for  the  wind  blew  fresh  and  strong  against 
them,  and  the  little  waves  dashed  with  no 
little  force  against  the  bows.  However,  by 
hard  pulling,  he  at  length  began  to  draw 
near  to  the  cove  again.  They  had  to  stop 
once  or  twice,  to  bail  out  the  water  from  the 
old  boat,  to  keep  it  from  filling. 

“If  it  should  fill,”  said  Josey,  “it  would 
sink,  I  suppose.” 

“No,”  said  Jonas,  “only  to  the  water’s 
edge.” 

“  But  I  should  think,”  said  Josey,  “  that,  if 
it  should  get  full  of  water,  it  would  sink.” 

“  No,”  replied  Jonas,  “  wood  is  lighter 
than  water,  whatever  the  shape  of  it  is ;  and 
a  boat  made  of  wood  can’t  sink.” 

“  I  have  heard  of  vessels  sinking,  at  any 
rate,”  said  Josey. 

“  Then  they  must  have  had  heavy  lading, 
or  ballast ;  for  if  a  wooden  ship  were  to  be 
filled  entirely  full  of  water,  and  sunk  to  the 
bottom  of  the  ocean,  it  would  come  up  again 
immediately.” 

When  the  boys  got  to  the  shore,  Jonas  said 


THE  CHASE. 


133 


“  Now,  Josey,  you  have  taken  some  of  your 
uncle’s  property,  and  I  think  you  ought  to 
make  him  compensation.” 

“  Why,  it  is  brought  back  again,”  said  Jo¬ 
sey.  He  thought  that  Jonas  meant  the  boat. 
“  I  don’t  mean  the  boat,”  said  Jonas. 

“  What  then  ?  ”  asked  Josey. 

“  I  mean  my  time.” 

“  Your  time  ?  ”  repeated  Josey. 

“  Yes,  my  time.  Your  uncle  is  paying  me 
high  wages,  and  all  my  time  is  his  property. 
Now,  that  has  been  consumed  in  going  after 
you ;  and  I  think  that,  in  justice  to  him,  you 
ought  to  work  with  us  long  enough  to  do  as 
much  as  I  should  have  done,  in  the  time  that 
I  have  had  to  take  to  go  and  bring  you  back. 
Don’t  you  think  so  yourself?  ” 

“  Why,  yes,”  said  Josey;  “  but  then - ” 

“  But  then,  what  ?  ”  said  Jonas. 

“  Why,  I  feel  pretty  tired.” 
u  Well,”  said  Jonas,  “  you  can  do  just  as 
you  think  best.  If  you  wish  to  be  just, 
you’ll  do  all  you  can  to  repay  your  uncle 
for  the  loss  of  my  time.” 

“Well,”  said  Josey,  “I  will;  —  but  shall 
you  tell  uncle  about  it  ?  ” 

12 


134  JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 

“  Certainly,”  said  Jonas. 

“  Why  ?  ”  asked  Josey. 

“  Because,”  said  Jonas,  u  I  ought  not  to 
let  such  a  thing  as  this  take  place  among 
us  boys,  without  his  knowing  it.” 

In  fact,  however,  Oliver  went  home  just 
before  Jonas  did,  and  he  told  his  father  and 
mother  all  about  the  affair.  When  Jonas 
came  in,  the  farmer  said,  — 

“  You  did  well,  Jonas  :  but  it  seems  to  me 
that  you  ran  a  great  risk.” 

“  No,  sir,”  said  Jonas,  “  I  am  used  to  the 
water.” 

“  But  suppose  the  boat  had  filled,  and  sunk 
under  you.” 

u  Then,”  said  Jonas,  “  I  should  have  swum 
back  to  the  shore.” 

“  But  suppose  you  had  been  too  far  from 
the  shore.” 

u  Then,”  said  Jonas,  “  I  should  have  swum 
to  Josey’s  boat.” 

u  But  suppose,”  continued  the  farmer, 
“  that  you  had  been  too  far  from  the  boat, 
too.” 

“  I  took  care  of  that,”  said  Jonas.  u  I 
watched  the  distances,  and  I  found  that  I 


the  chase. 


135 


was  coming  near  the  boat,  before  I  had  got 
too  far  from  the  shore.  If  I  had  not,  I  should 
have  gone  back  again.” 

11  Well,”  said  the  farmer,  “you  have  a 
long  head.  I  think  we  may  trust  you 
wherever  you  conclude  to  go.” 


136 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  HOLIDAY. 

It  was  the  custom  of  Oliver’s  father  to 
allow  all  his  men  and  boys  one  day,  for  hol¬ 
iday,  after  haying.  Jonas  told  Josey,  that,  if 
he  expected  to  have  a  good  time  on  this  hol¬ 
iday,  he  must  work  well  during  hay-time. 

Josey  took  this  advice.  He  worked  well, 
three  or  four  hours  every  day,  spreading  the 
swaths  and  opening  the  haycocks  in  the 
mornings,  and  raking  after  the  cart,  when 
the  hay  was  ready  to  be  got  in.  He  found 
that  the  effect  of  this  his  industry  was  just 
what  Jonas  had  predicted.  It  very  much 
heightened  the  enjoyment  of  the  holiday, 
when  the  holiday  came. 

The  evening  before  the  holiday,  the 
farmer’s  wife  said  that  she  had  been  out 
of  meal  several  days,  and  that  she  had 
been  waiting  till  after  haying,  to  ask  her 
husband  to  send  to  mill. 

Well,”  replied  the  farmer,  c:  day  after  to- 


THE  HOLIDAY. 


137 


morrow  the  boys  shall  go.  We  can’t  let 
any  thing  interfere  with  the  holiday.” 

“  I  should  like  to  go  to-morrow,”  said 
Jonas,  “  if  you  think  it  would  do  to  go  in 
the  boat.” 

“  In  the  boat  ?  ”  said  the  farmer. 

“  Yes,”  replied  Jonas.  “It  is  not  more 
than  a  mile  and  a  half  round,  by  water,  I 
should  think.” 

The  farmer  had  never  gone  to  mill  in  his 
boat  ;  although,  when  he  reflected  upon  it, 
he  perceived  that  there  was  a  communica¬ 
tion  by  water  all  the  way.  The  stream  on 
which  the  mill  was  situated,  issued  from  the 
pond,  and  the  mill  was  only  about  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  from  the  pond.  Then,  as  there 
was  a  dam  across  the  brook  at  the  mill,  the 
water  was  deep  and  still  back  to  the  pond, 
so  that  it  was  good  navigation  for  the  boat 
all  the  way. 

“But  it  will  be  very  hard  work,  and  take 
you  a  great  while,”  said  the  farmer,  “  to 
paddle  the  boat  three  miles, — and  loaded 
too.” 

“  I  didn’t  intend  to  paddle,”  said  Jonas ; 
“  if  there  was  a  little  wind,  I  thought  we 
could  sail.” 


12  * 


138  JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 

“  Well,  at  any  rate,”  said  the  farmer, 
“  you  can’t  sail  but  one  way  :  even  if  the 
wind  is  fair  to  go,  you  would  have  to  head 
against  it  coming  back.” 

“  Yes,  sir,”  said  Jonas,  “  with  a  bush. 
But  I  thought  that,  if  you  had  no  objection, 
I  could  rig  on  a  sail,  so  that  we  could  do 
better.” 

“  How?  ”  said  the  farmer;  “how  would  a 
sail  do  better  than  the  bush  ?  A  good-sized 
spruce  or  fir  will  take  a  great  deal  of  wind.” 

“  Yes,  sir,”  said  Jonas,  “'but  you  can’t  do 
any  thing  with  a  bush,  unless  the  wind  is 
dead  aft ;  but  I  think  that  I  could  rig  a  sail, 
so  that  we  could  lay  our  course  with  the 
wind  on  the  beam.” 

The  farmer,  who  was  not  much  accustomed 
to  nautical  phrases,  did  not  know  what  Jonas 
meant  by  his  “  dead  aft,”  and  his  “  laying  a 
course,”  and  his  “  wind  on  the  beam.” 
Still  he  knew  enough  of  Jonas’s  character 
to  feel  confident,  that  whatever  he  should 
undertake,  he  would  probably  be  able  to  do. 
After  a  short  pause,  he  asked  him,  — 

“  Well,  Jonas,  how  long  will  it  take  you  to 
rig  the  sail  ?  ” 

“ I  think,  sir,”  said  Jonas,  “we  could  get 


THE  HOLIDAY. 


139 


ready  by  nine  o’clock,  if  Amos  and  Oliver 
would  help.” 

“  And  I  too,”  said  Josey. 

“  You !  ”  said  the  farmer. 

“  He  can  help  some,  perhaps,”  said  Jonas. 

“Fll  help,”  said  Amos. 

“We  shall  have,”  said  Jonas,  “to  go  into 
the  woods  to  get  our  spars.” 

“  Spars  ?  ”  said  the  farmer.  “  What  spars  ?  ” 
He  did  not  know  what  the  word  spars  meant. 

“  Why,  we  shall  want  a  gaff  and  a  boom, 
besides  the  mast,”  said  Jonas. 

The  farmer  laughed  outright.  He  found 
that  he  made  no  progress  whatever,  in  under¬ 
standing  Jonas’s  explanations.  So  he  asked 
no  more  questions,  but  said  only,  — 

“  Well,  I  don’t  know  what  you  mean  by 
your  gaffs  and  your  booms ;  but  I  don’t  be¬ 
lieve  you’ll  find  any  of  them  growing  in  my 
woods.  However,  you  may  try.” 

Jonas,  having  thus  obtained  the  farmer’s 
permission,  rose  early  the  next  morning ;  and 
he,  and  Amos,  and  Oliver,  met,  soon  after  sun¬ 
rise,  in  a  sort  of  workshop,  in  a  shed  wherb 
the  farmer  used  to  mend  his  carts,  and  make 
his  sleds  and  tool-handles.  Jonas  said  that 
he  would  be  looking  up  something  for  a  sail. 


140  JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 

and  get  it  ready,  if  Amos  and  Oliver  would 
go  into  the  woods  and  get  the  mast  and  spars. 

“No,”  said  Amos,  “not  I.  If  you  want 
me  to  get  you  out  some  hoe-handles,  or  an 
axletree,  —  very  well.  But  I  don’t  know 
any  thing  about  your  masts  and  spars.” 

“  Why,  for  a  mast,”  said  Jonas,  “  I  only 
want  a  good,  straight,  handsome  maple  stick, 
ten  feet  long,  and  say  three  inches  through 
at  the  bottom.” 

“That  I  can  do,”  said  Amos. 

“  Then  we  shall  want  a  boom  and  gaff;  a 
crotch  will  do  instead  of  cheeks  ;  —  get  two 
or  three,  or  say  half  a  dozen,  straight  maple 
sticks,  say  six  feet  long,  with  a  crotch  in  one 
end.  That  is,  find  some  little  maples  di¬ 
viding  into  two  branches,  say  six  or  eight 
feet  from  the  ground.” 

“  That  we  can  do,”  said  Oliver. 

“  Well,”  said  Jonas,  “  that’s  all  we  shall 
want.” 

So  Amos  and  Oliver  took  their  axe,  and 
went  off  after  the  spars,  while  Jonas  began 
to'look  about,  in  the  sheds  and  lofts,  for  some¬ 
thing  which  would  do  for  a  sail. 

About  half  an  hour  after  this,  Josey  came 
out,  and  he  found  Jonas  looking  over  an  old, 


THE  HOLIDAY. 


141 


eoarse-looking  blanket,  which  appeared  to 
have  been  a  horse  blanket.  It  was  tattered 
and  torn  about  the  edges-  but  Jonas  said  he 
could  get  a  piece  out  of  it  which  would  do 
for  a  sail. 

“  It  won’t  be  big  enough,”  said  Josey. 

u  I  want  it  very  small,”  said  Jonas. 

“Why?”  said  Josey;  “then  your  boat 
won’t  sail  so  fast.” 

“  Nor  upset  so  easily,”  said  Jonas. 

“  Will  it  upset,”  said  Josey,  “  if  the  sail  is 
large  ?  ” 

“  There  is  more  danger  of  it.  And  you 
see,  as  the  boys  about  here  are  not  used  to 
manage  boats,  I  am  going  to  make  the  sail  so 
small,  that  the  boat  cannot  be  upset  by  it,  let 
what  will  happen.  I’d  rather  go  slow,  than 
have  the  boat  upset  by  and  by,  and  some¬ 
body  get  drowned,  and  then  have  the  peo¬ 
ple  charge  it  to  me.” 

“  Fd  have  a  bigger  sail  than  that,  at  any 
rate,”  said  Josey. 

“No,”  said  Jonas;  “  and  there  is  another 
thing  I  am  going  to  do  for  security.  I  don’t 
mean  to  have  any  belaying  pin  aft.” 

“  What  is  a  belaying  pin  aft  ?  ”  said  Josey. 

“  Why,  a  belaying  pin,  to  belay  the  main 


142 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER, 


sheet  to.  Then,  if  there  comes  a  squally 
whoever  is  in  the  boat  will  let  go  the  main 
sheet,  by  instinct,  and  so  shake  the  wind 
right  out  the  sail.” 

Josey  did  not  understand  this  explanation 
at  all.  He  perceived,  however,  that  Jonas 
intended  to  go  to  the  extreme  of  caution,  to 
prevent  any  accident  happening  to  the  boat, 
in  consecpience  of  his  instrumentality  in 
fitting  a  sail  to  it. 

u  At  any  rate,”  said  Josey,  “  I  would  have 
a  handsomer  sail  than  that.  I'd  go  and 
make  my  aunt  give  me  something  better—* 
some  good  white  cloth.” 

“Yes,”  replied  Jonas,  as  he  was  trimming 
the  edge  of  his  sail  with  a  large  pair  of 
shears,  “  I  think  it  likely  that  that  is  the 
way  you  would  manage.  But  I  am  a  little 
more  cunning  than  that.” 

u  Why  ?  ”  said  Josey. 

“  Why,  you  see,”  replied  Jonas,  “  people 
would  let  us  boys  have  our  own  plans  a 
great  deal  oftener,  if  we  did  not  trouble  them 
in  carrying  them  into  execution.  For  in¬ 
stance,  if  you  want  to  make  a  dove-house, 
and  should  go  and  ask  your  uncle  to  let  you 
do  it, — ten  to  one  he’d  say  no,  just  because 


THE  HOLIDAY. 


143 


lie  would  expect,  that  you  would  come  right 
to  him  to  get  this  thing  and  that,  to  make  it 
with,  and  so  make  him  a  great  deal  of 
trouble.” 

“ 1  wish  he  would  let  me  have  a  dove- 
house,”  said  Josey. 

“Now,”  continued  Jonas,  “I  am  going  to 
make  a  sail  out  of  this  old  blanket ;  and 
then  I  shall  tell  him  that,  if  he  should  ever 
want  a  better  one,  I  can  shift  it  very  easily.” 

About  this  time,  Amos  and  Oliver  returned 
from  the  woods  with  their  mast  and  spars,. 

Jonas  said  that  they  would  do  very  well. 
lie  trimmed  and  smoothed  the  mast,  and 
fitted  it  to  its  place.  Then  he  selected  one 
of  the  largest  of  the  other  poles,  which  had 
crotches  at  one  end,  and  said  that  that  would 
make  the  best  boom. 

“  What  is  a  boom  ?  ”  asked  Amos. 

“  Why,  a  boom  is  to  go  along  the  lower 
end  of  the  sail,  to  keep  it  stretched  out,  so  as 
to  take  the  wind.” 

“What  is  the  crotch  for?  ”  said  Amos. 

“  W  hy,  the  crotch  is  to  fit  to  the  mast. 
One  branch  goes  on  one  side,  and  the  other 
on  the  other.  So  the  boom  can  swing  around 
the  mast,  and  run  off  in  any  direction. 


144 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


“  And  now,  Amos,  will  yon  trim  and  smooth 
the  boom,  while  I  select  a  gaff  ?  ” 

“  A  gaff,”  repeated  Josey ;  “  what  is  a  gaff?  ” 

“  Why,  the  gaff,”  said  Jonas,  “  runs  along 
the  upper  edge  of  the  sail,  and  is  to  keep 
that  part  stretched  out  too.  It  is  not  so  long 
as  the  boom.” 

“  Why  not  ?  ”  asked  Oliver. 

u  Because,”  said  Jonas,  “the  upper  part  of 
the  sail  is  not  so  broad  as  the  lower  part.” 

“  And  what  are  ail  the  rest  of  the  poles 
for?  ”  said  Oliver. 

“We  shall  not  want  the  rest,”  replied  Jo¬ 
nas.  “I  told  you  to  get  half  a  dozen,  in 
order  that  I  might  have  enough  to  choose 
from ;  though  we’ll  put  away  the  rest,  be¬ 
cause  one  of  these  may  get  broken.” 

While  Jonas  was  rigging  his  sail  to  the 
mast,  he  sent  Amos  down  to  the  cove,  to 
measure  the  length  of  the  boat,  for  he  said 
that  he  must  have  a  keel.  He  then  marked 
out  a  piece  of  plank  of  the  right  length  and 
breadth  for  a  keel,  and,  when  Amos  returned, 
he  asked  him  to  saw  it  out  and  plane  it. 

When  all  was  ready,  the  whole  party  went 
down  to  the  cove.  Jonas  carried  the  mast 
and  sail  rolled  up  together,  and  Amos  and 


THE  HOLIDAY. 


145 


Oliver  carried  the  keel.  Josey,  who  was  desi¬ 
rous  of  rendering  some  aid,  took  an  auger  and 
an  axe,  and  some  wooden  pins  which  Jonas 
had  made.  They  were  for  the  purpose  of 
pinning  the  keel  on  to  the  bottom  of  the  boat. 

When  they  reached  the  cove,  they  drew 
up  the  boat,  and  turned  it  bottom  upwards. 
Then  Jonas  pinned  on  the  keel  ;  he  made  it 
very  firm.  They  asked  him  what  the  keel 
was  for  ;  and  he  said  that,  without  a  keel,  no 
boat  could  be  kept  to  the  wind,  though  he 
did  not  know  what  the  reason  was.  The 
other  boys  did  not  know  what  he  meant  by 
keeping  a  boat  to  the  wind  ;  but,  as  Jonas  was 
just  ready  to  turn  the  boat  over  again,  they 
did  not  ask  him. 

When  the  boat  was  in  its  proper  position, 
they  launched  her  into  the  water,  leaving 
the  boAvs  resting  slightly  upon  the  sand. 
Then  Jonas  raised  the  mast,  having  previ¬ 
ously  unfurled  the  sail.  He  said  he  had 
not  the  proper  rigging  for  unfurling  the  sail, 
AAdien  the  mast  Avas  up.  He  asked  Amos 
and  the  other  boys  to  get  in  first,  Avhile  he 
kept  hold  of  the  boat  by  the  boAvs. 

“We’ll  try  her  a  little  Avay  first,”  said  he, 
13 


146  JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 

“  to  see  if  she  will  sail,  before  we  go  and  get 
the  grain  to  take  to  mill.” 

The  boat  sailed  very  well  indeed.  Arnos 
was  astonished  to  see  it  going  out  and  com¬ 
ing  back,  by  means  of  the  same  wind.  Jo¬ 
nas  steered  with  his  paddle,  'which  he  held 
out  behind.  There  was  a  fresh  breeze  blow¬ 
ing  upon  the  pond,  and  Jonas  said  that,  if 
they  had  the  cargo  on  board,  he  had  no  doubt 
but  that  they  should  be  able  to  make  their 
way  to  the  mill,  without  any  difficulty  at  all. 

They  all,  accordingly,  went  up  to  the  corn 
barn  to  get  the  grain.  They  measured  it 
out,  and  put  it  into  bags.  They  put  some 
of  the  bags  upon  a  wheelbarrow,  and  Jonas 
wheeled  them  down  to  the  cove.  Amos  took 
one  upon  his  back. 

Oliver  went  into  the  house  to  get  some  pro¬ 
visions  in  a  basket,  for  Jonas  said  that  they 
could  not  get  back  until  after  dinner-time,  and 
so  they  would  take  their  dinner  with  them, 
and  stop  and  eat  it  upon  some  island. 


147 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  SAIL. 

The  boys  put  in  their  cargo  of  grain,  and 
then  embarked  themselves.  The  farmer,  and 
his  wife,  and  little  Amelia,  came  down  to  the 
cove  to  see  them  set  sail.  Jonas  seated  Oli¬ 
ver  in  the  bows  to  look  over  into  the  water, 
and  give  warning  in  case  they  should  be  in 
danger,  as  Jonas  said,  of  running  foul  of 
any  thing.  Amos  and  Josey  took  their 
places  near  the  middle  of  the  boat,  and  Jo¬ 
nas  sat  in  the  stern.  “  Now  I’m  ready  to 
shove  off,”  said  Jonas.  “  You  must  all  sit 
still,  and  keep  a  good  lookout,  Oliver ;  for 
there  are  several  rocks  about  the  mouth  of 
the  cove.” 

“Let  me  go  and  look  out,”  said  Josey, 
starting  up  from  his  place. 

“No,”  said  Jonas ;  “sit  still.” 

“  Why  mayn’t  I  go  ?  ”  said  Josey. 

“You  don’t  get  any  reasons  at  sea,”  said 
Jonas  “  nothing  but  orders.” 


148  JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 

“  A  great  rock  !  77  said  Oliver  ;  “  go  that 
way,  go  that  way.7’ 

As  he  said  this,  he  pointed  very  eagerly, 
with  his  hand,  off  in  the  direction  away 
from  the  great  rock. 

Jonas  turned  the  boat  in  the  direction 
which  Oliver  indicated,  and  so  escaped  the 
rock. 

“You  ought  not  to  say,  ‘  Go  that  way,’  ” 
said  Jonas. 

“  What  must  I  say  ?  77  asked  Oliver. 

“You  must  say,  4  Bear  up'  or  1  Bear  away' 
according  as  you  want  me  to  go  towards  the 
wind,  or  away  from  it.  Up  is  towards  the 
windy  side  of  the  boat  j  array  is  the  opposite 
direction.77 

“  Well,  then,77  said  he,  “  bear  up  j  for  here 
is  a  great  log  lying  upon  the  bottom.  It  is  a 
tree  ;  now  I  see  the  branches.77 

“  Let  me  see,77  said  Josey  •  and  he  half 
rose,  and  would  have  gone  forward,  but  he 
perceived  that  he  could  now  see  the  tree  by 
looking  over  the  side.  It  was  an  old  tree, 
which  had  once  been  growing  upon  the  shore, 
but  had  long  since  fallen  into  the  water,  and, 
after  drifting  about  for  some  time,  had  sunk. 
A  few  decayed  branches  remained  upon  it, 


u  1  Now  I  can  see  the  bottom/  said  Oliver.  1  It  is  sandy.7 77  •*—  Page  151. 


THE  SAIL. 


151 


and  the  boat  came  very  near  striking  one  of 
them. 

Very  soon,  however,  the  boat  got  out  of 
the  cove,  and  into  deep  Avater  ;  and  here  the 
wind  took  the  sail  more  powerfully,  and  they 
went  on  though  the  water  with  considerable 
speed.  Jonas  steered  across  a  deep  bay,  to- 
wards  a  point  of  land  which  made  out  from 
the  shore.  There  was  a  very  pretty  island 
at  a  little  distance  from  the  point,  and  Jonas 
said  he  meant  to  sail  between  this  island  and 
the  point.  Both  the  point  and  the  island 
were  covered  with  woods,  only  the  extremity 
of  the  point  was  rocky. 

As  they  gradually  approached  the  narrow 
passage  of  water,  through  which  Jonas  was 
intending  to  pass,  Oliver  began  to  say,  — 

“  Now  I  can  see  the  bottom.  It  is  sandy. 
Now  it  is  gravelly.  Shoal  water  coming, 
Jonas  —  shoal  water.  Bear  up,  Jonas  ;  ■ —  no, 
away ;  away,  bear  away.  There,  I  see  a 
great  stump,  but  it’s  on  one  side.  We  sha’n’t 
run  against  it.  Shoal  water,  shoal  water,  — 
but  its  deeper  on  farther  ;  we  shall  get  by.” 

In  fact,  the  boat  was  now  in  a  line  be¬ 
tween  the  point  and  the  island,  and  about 
equally  distant  from  them.  The  island 


152 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


looked  larger  than  it  had  done  before.  It 
extended  along  for  some  distance,  with  a 
white  sandy  beach  at  the  water’s  edge.  As 
they  were  slowly  gliding  along  here,  Josey 
said,  — 

“Now,  Jonas,  you  ought  to  let  me  be  the 
lookout  man.  Oliver  has  been  lookout  man 
his  share.” 

“  We  don’t  go  by  shares  at  sea,”  said 
Jonas. 

“  But  I  want  to  look  out  now,”  he  contin¬ 
ued,  in  a  complaining  tone,  “  and  I  mean  to.” 

Here  Josey  rose  from  his  seat,  and  began 
to  move  towards  the  bows  of  the  boat. 

“No,”  said  Jonas;  “you  must  obey  me. 
I’m  captain.  There’s  no  getting  along  at 
sea  without  obeying  the  commander.” 

“No,”  said  Josey;  “you  are  not  captain 
any  more  than  I.  It’s  more  my  boat  than  it 
is  yours,  because  it  belongs  to  my  uncle.” 

“  Your  uncle  put  it  under  my  charge,  and 
you  must  do  as  I  say  ;  so  sit  down.” 

“  No,”  replied  Josey  ;  “  I  mean  to  go  and 
be  the  lookout  man.’’ 

So  Josey  attempted  to  step  over  the  seat  ; 
but,  just  at  that  moment,  he  observed  that 
Jonas  made  a  new  motion  with  his  paddle. 


THE  SAIL. 


153 


and  the  boat  began  to  move  slowly  round 
away  from  the  island,  and  towards  the  main 
land.  At  the  same  time,  the  sail,  which  had 
before  hung  off  upon  one  side  of  the  boat, 
began  to  swing  back  towards  the  middle  of 
it,  and  the  boom,  which  was  at  the  lower 
edge  of  it,  came  thumping  against  Josey ’s 
head  and  shoulders.  At  the  same  moment, 
the  sail  began  to  flap  and  flutter  in  the  wind, 
with  a  loud  noise,  shaking  the  boom  about 
over  Josey’s  head.  Josey  sank  down  into  the 
bottom  of  the  boat,  to  get  out  of  the  way. 

“  What’s  the  matter  ?  ”  said  Amos,  look¬ 
ing  frightened. 

“  Nothing,”  said  Jonas,  coolly.  “Just 
take  hold  of  the  boom,  and  pass  it  over  to 
the  other  side.” 

Amos  did  so.  The  boat  turned  round 
more  and  more,  and  the  sail  swung  off  over 
the  water,  so  as  to  be  out  of  their  way  again, 
only  it  was  now  on  the  opposite  side. 

“  What  was  that  ?  ”  said  Josey,  after  the 
manoeuvre  was  over. 

“Nothing,  only  our  going  about.” 

“Going  about?”  repeated  Josey;  “what 
for?” 

“  I  am  going  to  put  you  ashore.” 


154  JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 

“  Me  ashore!”  repeated  Josey,  more  and 
more  surprised.  He  looked  forward,  and 
saw  that  the  boat  was  now  pointed  towards 
the  shore,  at  a  place  on  the  back  side  of  the 
point  of  land  which  they  had  just  passed. 

“  Yes,”  said  Jonas,  “the  only  way,  when 
we  have  an  unmanageable  passenger  on 
board,  is  to  put  him  ashore  upon  the  near¬ 
est  land.” 

A  momentary  thought  passed  across  Jo¬ 
se  y’s  mind,  that  he  would  not  be  put  ashore ; 
he  would  resist.  But,  then,  in  a  moment  he 
reflected,  that  all  his  attempts  at  resistance, 
in  respect  to  any  of  Jonas’s  decisions,  had 
been  utterly  fruitless  and  vain.  He  there¬ 
fore,  after  a  moment’s  pause,  said,  — 

“  No,  Jonas,  you  mustn’t  put  me  ashore. 
I’ll  sit  still.” 

“  It’s  very  hazardous  trusting  to  promises 
at  sea,”  said  Jonas. 

“Why?”  asked  Josey. 

“  Why,  suppose  a  passenger,  or  one  of  the 
crew,  was  mutinous  or  ungovernable,  and  the 
captain  should  conclude  to  put  him  ashore, 
and  he  should  beg  and  promise,  and  so  the 
captain  should  conclude  to  try  him,  — and 
then  they  sail  away  from  the  land  out  to  sea 


THE  SAIL. 


155 


again.  Now,  if  the  mutineer  was  to  begin 
to  behave  badly  again,  the  captain  might 
have  to  keep  him  on  board  all  the  time,  for 
perhaps  they  would  not  have  any  opportu¬ 
nity  to  touch  at  any  land  again,  until  they 
arrived  home,  and  he  might  do  a  great  deal 
of  mischief.” 

By  this  time  the  boat  had  got  very  near  to 
the  beach.  Josey,  seeing  that  Jonas  was  in 
earnest,  began  to  be  quite  alarmed. 

“  But  what  shall  I  do,”  said  he,  “  if  you 
put  me  ashore  ?  ” 

“  You  can  either  walk  home,  or  wait  there 
till  we  come  back  from  the  mill.  I’ll  call 
for  you  when  I  come  back.” 

“  But  I  can’t  find  my  way  home,”  said 
Josey. 

“O  yes,”  said  Jonas.  “If  you  walk  up 
the  bank,  and  through  the  trees  up  on  the 
hill  beyond,  you’ll  see  the  road  a  short  dis¬ 
tance  across  the  fields.  It  is  only  about  a 
mile  and  a  half  home.  I’m  sorry  to  have 
you  obliged  to  take  such  a  long  walk.  It 
would  have  been  a  great  deal  pleasanter  for 
us  all  to  have  had  you  obeyed  orders.” 

So  saying,  Jonas  changed  the  position  of 
his  paddle  in  such  a  way,  that  the  head  of 


156  JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 

the  boat  was  brought  up  to  the  wind,  and 
the  sail  swung  around  to  the  middle  of  the 
boat,  and,  after  shaking  a  little,  but  not  vio¬ 
lently,  it  hung  becalmed.  There  was  not 
much  wind  here,  for  the  place  was  sheltered 
by  the  land.  The  boat  floated  nearly  at 
rest  upon  the  water,  close  to  the  sand. 

“I  wish  you’d  try  him  once  more,  Jonas,” 
said  Oliver. 

“Yes,”  said  Amos,  U1  wish  you  would,  if 
you  can.  I  don’t  think  he’ll  make  any  more 
trouble.” 

Jonas  had  begun  to  push  his  boat  up  to 
the  beach  with  the  paddle,  so  that  Josey 
could  get  out ;  but  he  stopped  at  hearing 
these  words  from  Amos  and  Oliver,  and 
said,  — 

“  Well,  if  the  other  passengers  intercede 
for  him,  that  makes  it  a  little  different  case, 
I  admit.” 

So  saying,  Jonas  paused,  holding  his  pad¬ 
dle  motionless  in  the  water,  as  if  at  a  loss 
what  to  do.  Tn  the  mean  time,  the  boat 
slowly  glided  inward  from  the  effect  of  the 
impulse  which  Jonas  had  given  it  before, 
and  at  length  it  struck  gently  upon  the 
sand. 


THE  SAIL. 


157 


“  Yes,  Jonas,”  said  Amos,  “  try  him  once 
more.” 

“  Well,”  said  Jonas,  “out  of  respect  to  my 
other  passengers,  I  will  j  but  I  warn  you  all 
that  it  is  a  dangerous  experiment  to  take 
mutiny  out  to  sea, — even  if  the  sea  is  a 
pond,  and  the  mutineer  only  a  boy ;  he  may 
upset  us.” 

Jonas  immediately  pushed  the  boat  off, 
and  headed  her  away  from  the  shore.  The 
boom  swung  over  again ;  Amos  and  Josey 
bowed  their  heads  to  let  it  pass.  They 
moved  very  slowly  at  first,  where  the  water 
under  the  lee  of  the  land  was  smooth  and 
still.  They  soon,  however,  came  out  where 
the  breeze  took  them,  and  then  they  glided 
along  quite  rapidly  towards  the  outlet  of  the 
pond,  which  led  to  the  mill.  A  stream  run¬ 
ning  from  a  pond  is  called  an  outlet. 

“  I  don’t  know  how  we  shall  find  the  en¬ 
trance  to  the  outlet,”  said  Jonas. 

That  part  of  the  pond  was  so  indented 
with  bays,  and  there  were  so  many  little 
islands,  that  Jonas  did  not  know  exact¬ 
ly  whereabouts  to  look  for  the  proper  pas¬ 
sage. 

“  /  know,”  said  Amos ;  “  steer  directly  for 

14 


158  JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 

that  large  pine-tree,  with  the  rocks  on  the 
shore  below  it.” 

“  Yes,”  said  Jonas,  “I  see  it.” 

“We  go  between  that  and  the  little  green 
island  east  of  it.” 

“  Yes,”  said  Jonas,  “I  s©e.” 

In  a  short  time,  they  were  running  along 
between  the  little  green  island  and  the  rocky 
shore.  Josey  looked  up  at  the  tall  pine, 
which  towered  above  their  heads  to  a  vast 
height.  He  was  almost  afraid  that  it  might 
fall  over  upon  them.  But  Amos  said  he  need 
not  fear. 

“It  would  be  a  good  half  hour’s  work  to 
get  it  down,”  he  said,  “with  the  best  axe 
that  ever  fell  a  tree.” 

“  It  isn’t  the  axe  that  falls  a  tree,”  said 
Josey;  “it  is  the  man  that  uses  it.” 

Amos  made  no  reply  to  this  criticism,  but 
pointed  out  the  top  of  the  mill,  which  was 
just  visible  before  them,  over  the  tops  of  the 
trees.  The  boat  glided  along  very  smoothly 
over  the  surface  of  the  mill  pond,  which  they 
had  now  fairly  entered ;  and  they  soon  reached 
a  little  landing,  where  they  were  going  to 
draw  up  their  boat,  close  in  the  rear  of  the 
mill. 


THE  SAIL. 


159 


They  carried  the  bags  into  the  mill,  and 
then,  while  they  were  waiting  for  it  to  be 
ground,  the  three  hoys  rambled  along  the 
bank  of  the  pond.  Amos  went  up  into  the 
village  to  buy  something  at  a  store.  When 
they  got  tired,  they  sat  down  upon  some 
rocks  near  the  water. 

“  See  the  fishes,  swimming  in  the  water,” 
said  Josey ;  “  I  wish  I  had  my  fishing-line 
here.” 

“  I  wish  1  could  swim  as  well  as  a  fish 
/Jan,”  said  Oliver. 

It  wras  a  very  warm  day,  and  tha  appear¬ 
ance  of  the  fishes,  gliding  along  and  bathing 
their  sides  in  the  clear  and  cool  water,  was  a 
very  refreshing  sight. 

Here  Josey,  who  had  strayed  along  the 
bank  a  step  or  two,  uttered  a  loud  and  long 
exclamation,  and  called  upon  the  boys  to 
come  and  see  a  monstrous  long  fish. 

See  !  ”  said  Josey;  “there  he  is,  right 
there,  in  that  little  cove  under  the  rock  ;  he 
is  as  still,  —  O,  how  still  he  is  !  ” 

11  Yes,”  said  Oliver,  “  it  is  a  pickerel.” 

Jonas  looked,  and  he  saw  a  long  and  ele¬ 
gant-shaped  fish,  lying  motionless  in  a  still 


TOO 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


place  in  the  water,  made  so  by  the  shelter  of 
the  rock.  He  was  still  as  a  statue,  except¬ 
ing  that  two  of  his  fins  were  gently  moving 
to  and  fro  in  the  water,  without,  however, 
appearing  to  give  any  impulse  whatever  to 
his  body. 

u  What  a  beautiful  pickerel !  ”  said  Josey. 
“  O,  how  I  wish  I  could  float  in  the  water 
like  that !  ” 

“  Why  ?  ”  said  Jonas.  u  Do  you  think  it 
would  be  pleasanter  lying  down  there,  than 
being  up  here  on  the  bank?  ” 

“  Yes, _  indeed,”  said  Josey. 

“  I’ll  ask  him,”  said  Jonas,  and  see  what 
he  says.”  Then,  looking  down  into  the  wa¬ 
ter,  and  pretending  to  address  the  pickerel,  he 
said,  u  Fish,  what  is  your  name  ?  ” 

After  a  moment’s  pause,  he  repeated  his 
question  ;  and  then,  in  a  little  different  voice, 
gave  the  answer,  as  if  it  were  spoken  by  the 
fish  ;  and  so  he  proceeded,  carrying  on  a  pre¬ 
tended  conversation  with  the  fish  for  some 
time,  as  follows  :  — 

“  What  is  your  name,  fish  ?  — My  name  is 
John  Pickerel. — How  do  you  like  living 
down  under  the  water? — Pretty  well.  —  I 


THE  SAIL. 


161 

suppose  you  can  swim  very  fast.  —  Yes,  sir. 
very  fast  ;  all  over  the  brook  and  pond. — Well, 
it  must  be  very  pleasant.  Here  is  a  boy  by 
me  who  wishes  he  could  swim  about  under 
the  water,  instead  of  Avalking  on  the  shore.  — 
Then  he’s  a  very  foolish  boy  ;  for  its  very 
gloomy  down  here  :  there’s  nothing  to  see 
but  sand,  and  gravel,  and  rocks,  wherever  I 
go  ;  no  grass,  no  houses,  no  trees,  nothing 
but  sand,  and  gravel,  and  rocks,  every  where  ; 
always  the  same.  I  wish  I  could  live  out  of 
the  water,  and  walk  on  the  bank  in  the  pleas¬ 
ant  sun.  —  Then,  it  seems,  this  boy  is  mis¬ 
taken. —  Yes,  very  much  mistaken.  The 
surface  of  the  water  is  very  pretty  to  look 
upon  when  the  sun  is  shining  on  it  in  a 
pleasant  summer’s  day,  but  it  is  a  very 
gloomy  place  to  live  in.  The  next  time  that 
boy  goes  in  to  bathe,  let  him  hold  his  head 
under  water,  and  open  his  eyes,  and  he  will 
see  that  it  is  a  very  dreary  and  lonesome 
place  indeed.7’ 

“I  mean  to  try  it,”  said  Josey. 

“  Well,  good-by,  John  Pickerel,”  said  Jo¬ 
nas.  “Much  obliged  to  you  for  the  informa¬ 
tion  you  have  given  us.” 

14* 


162 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


Just  at  this  time,  the  pickerel  began  very 
slowly  to  glide  off  towards  the  deep  water. 
Josey  got  a  stick  to  stop  him ;  but  the  mo¬ 
ment  the  stick  touched  the  water,  the  fish 
darted  off  like  an  arrow,  and  disappeared. 
When  the  boys  returned  to  the  mill,  they 
found  their  grist  ready ;  and  the  boat  soon 
conveyed  both  the  company  and  the  cargo 
safely  home. 


163 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  GRAY  SQUIRREL 

In  the  place  where  the  farmer  lived,  going 
to  church  was  commonly  called  going  to 
meeting ;  and  the  church  itself  was  called 
the  meeting-house.  This  meeting-house  was 
m  the  village,  a  mile  or  two  distant  from 
the  house  where  the  farmer  lived. 

The  farmer’s  family  generally  went  in  a 
large,  covered  wagon,  drawn  by  two  horses. 
Jonas,  and  Josey,  and  Oliver,  frequently 
walked,  taking  a  cross  path  which  led 
through  the  fields,  which  shortened  the  dis¬ 
tance  considerably.  Josey  always  liked  to 
go  this  way. 

One  pleasant  Sabbath  morning  in  the  au¬ 
tumn,  they  set  out  together  as  usual.  They 
walked  along  through  the  orchard.  They  all 
stopped  a  moment  under  an  apple-tree,  which 
bore  large,  juicy  apples,  and  picked  up  one 
or  two  apiece,  to  eat  as  they  walked  along. 
Beyond  the  orchard  was  a  cornfield.  There 


164  JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 

was  a  stone  wall  between  the  cornfield  and 
the  orchard,  with  a  sort  of  gap,  where  the 
boys  used  to  get  over. 

The  corn  was  nearly  ripe.  The  tops  had 
been  cut  oft’,  to  admit  the  sun  more  fully  to 
the  ears,  whose  golden  tips  appeared  bursting 
out  from  aniong  the  husks,  all  over  the  field. 
In  some  of  the  largest  and  ripest  ears,  the 
husks  had  turned  back  entirely,  leaving  the 
long  rows  of  ripe  and  yellow  corn  fully  ex¬ 
posed.  On  one  such  ear  as  this,  Oliver  saw, 
a  short  distance  before  him,  a  large  gray 
squirrel.  He  was  clinging  to  the  top  of  the 
ear,  which  was  bent  down  by  his  weight. 

“Stop!”  said  Oliver,  in  a  suppressed 
voice. 

As  he  said  this,  he  stopped  suddenly  him¬ 
self,  and  extended  his  hands  before  Josey 
and  Jonas,  to  prevent  their  going  forward. 
He  then  pointed  to  the  squirrel. 

“I  see  him,”  said  Josey,  “I  see  him. 
Wait ;  —  let  me  get  a  stone.” 

“No,”  rejoined  Jonas,  “don’t  stone  him; 
—  let  us  wait,  and  see  what  he  will  do.” 

The  squirrel  filled  his  cheeks  with  the 
kernels  of  corn,  and  then  leaped  down  to  the 
ground.  He  paused  a  moment,  eyeing  the 


THE  GRAY  SQUIRREL. 


165 


boys  suspiciously,  and  then  he  glided  along 
towards  the  path,  with  his  long,  bushy  tail 
extended  behind  him,  just  lightly  touching 
the  ground. 

Josey  was  so  much  excited,  that  he  leaped 
up  involuntarily,  and  clapped  his  hands. 
The  squirrel  stopped,  turned  suddenly  to¬ 
wards  the  boys,  and  remained  motionless,  in 
a  sitting  posture,  with  his  tail  laid  along  his 
back,  its  tip  curved  like  a  plume. 

u  Hush  !  ”  said  Jonas,  in  a  low  voice  ;  — 
u  stand  perfectly  still.” 

The  boys  stood  still ;  and  presently  Bunny 
began  to  move  forward  again.  He  went  on 
in  the  path,  the  boys  following  him  with 
very  cautious  steps.  He  advanced  rapidly, 

* 

sometimes  leaping  over  the  inequalities  of 
the  path,  and  sometimes  gliding  smoothly 
along  like  a  bird. 

The  boys  followed  him  eagerly,  but  with 
great  caution.  At  the  end  of  the  cornfield 
he  passed  under  a  fence,  and  the  path  entered 
a  wood.  The  squirrel  ran  under  the  fence 
by  a  hole  near  a  post ;  but  the  boys  climbed 
over  a  stile,  taking  great  care  not  to  lose  sight 
of  him.  The  path  led  down  a  gentle  de¬ 
scent,  with  trees  on  each  side  ;  and  the  squir- 


166 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


rel  went  on,  until,  at  length,  he  came  to  a 
place  where  there  was  a  large  and  half-de¬ 
cayed  trunk  of  a  tree,  lying  upon  the  ground, 
half  enveloped  in  bushes  and  leaves.  One 
end  of  this  trunk  was  towards  the  road,  and 
under  it  was  a  small  hole.  The  squirrel' 
darted  into  this  hole,  and  disappeared.  The 
boys  gathered  around  the  hole,  and  stood 
looking  at  it. 

“Come,”  said  Jonas,  “let  us  go  along.” 

“  I  wouldn’t  go  yet,”  said  Josey  -r  “-we  will 
wait  a  little  while,  and  perhaps  he  will  come 
out.” 

“No/7  replied  Jonas,,  “we  mustn’t  stop 
any  longer  ;  we  must  go  to  meeting.” 

“But  I  want  to  see  him  again,”  said  Josey.. 
“  Besides,  I  can  catch  him,  when  he  comes- 
out  again.” 

“It  isn’t  right  for  us  to  stop  on  the  Sab¬ 
bath,  when  we  are  going  to  meeting,  and 
catch  squirrels,”  rejoined  Jonas.  “  Comef 
we  will  go  along.” 

So  Jonas  walked  on,,  and  Josey  and  Oliver 
followed,  though  Josey  was  very  reluctant 
to  go. 

“I  don’t  see  what  harm  there  is  in  stop¬ 
ping  to  look  at  a  squirrel,”  said  he. 


THE  GRAY  SQUIRREL. 


167 


Jonas  did  not  answer. 

“  And  I  don’t  see  any  difference  between 
■stopping  to  look  at  him  and  running  along 
after  him  in  the  path;  and  that  you  did,  Jo¬ 
nas.5’ 

“Well,”  said  Jonas,  if  we  have  done 
wrong  once,  in  running  along  after  him,  we 
won’t  do  wrong  again  by  stopping  to  look  at 
him,  and  so  make  ourselves  late  at  meeting. 
It  is  best  to  keep  ourselves  under  pretty  strict 
rules,  on  the  Sabbath  day.” 

So  the  boys  walked  on.  About  half  a 
mile  farther  they  came  out  upon  the  main 
road  again,  but  it  was  not  so  pleasant  walk¬ 
ing  along  the  main  road,  as  it  was  in  the 
pathway  through  the  fields  ;  because  wagons, 
and  chaises,  and  persons  on  horseback,  were 
continually  coming  along,  and  the  boys  had 
to  be  careful  to  keep  out  of  their  way. 
However,  the  boys  got  safely  to  meeting. 
They  remained  at  the  meeting-house  during 
the  intermission  at  noon.  For  their  dinner, 
they  ate  some  bread  and  cheese,  which  they 
had  brought  in  their  pockets.  They  sat, 
while  eating  it,  in  a  shady  corner,  at  the  end 
of  a  long  shed  with  many  divisions,  which 
had  been  built  behind  the  meeting-house,  for 


168 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


the  horses  to  stand  under,  in  the  cold  storms 
in  winter. 

In  the  afternoon,  the  boys  returned  home 
by  the  same  way  they  came.  They  came 
along  very  cautiously  when  they  approached 
the  great  log,  in  hopes  of  seeing  the  squirrel 
about  his  hole  again ;  but  he  was  not  there. 
Josey  said  that  he  meant  to  set  a  trap  for 
him,  the  next  day. 

When  they  got.  home,  they  found  the 
horses  and  the  wagon  fastened  in  the  yard, 
waiting  for  the  boys  to  take  care  of  them. 
Jonas  unharnessed  the  horses,  and  then  Josey 
led  one,  and  Oliver  the  other,  to  the  bars  which 
opened  into  the  pasture.  It  was  then  two 
hours  before  supper-time,  and  so  Jonas  went 
into  the  house,  and  got  a  book  to  read.  He 
brought  his  book  out,  and  sat  down  upon  a 
bench,  in  a  shady  corner  of  the  back  yard, 
and  began  to  read. 

“  Jonas,”  said  Josey,  I  am  going  to  set  a 
trap  for  that  squirrel,  and  catch  him.” 

“  I  wouldn’t  do  any  thing  about  it  to-day ,” 
said  Jonas. 

“  No,  I  am  not  going  to  do  any  thing  about 
it;  I  am  only  just  going  to  see  if  that  old 
steel  trap  in  the  barn  is  in  good  order.” 


THE  GRAY  SQUIRREL. 


169 


u  I  wouldn’t,”  said  Jonas.  “  I  wouldn’t 
see  any  thing  about  it  to-day.  Come  and  sit 
here  with  me  and  read.” 

u  Why,  I  don’t  think  there’s  any  harm,” 
said  Josey,  “  in  just  going  to  see  if  the  trap 
is  there.” 

11  But  I  know  there’s  no  harm  in  sitting 
here  and,  reading  about  old  King  David. 
Let’s  do  what  we’re  sure  of.” 

u  Are  you  reading  about  old  King  David  ?  ” 
asked  Josey. 

“  Yes,”  said  Jonas,  “  how  he  got  Goliath’s 
sword.” 

“  O,  I  know,”  said  Josey;  “he  jumped 
right  on  to  him,  and  pulled  the  sword  out  of 
his  scabbard,  and  then  cut  his  head  off.” 

“  I  don’t  mean  that  time.  He  got  his 
sword  another  time,  —  after  that,  —  in  a  very 
singular  way.  If  you’ll  go  and  get  Oliver 
and  Amelia,  and  come  here,  I’ll  read  and  ex¬ 
plain  it  to  you.” 

Josey  liked  this  proposal  very  much.  He 
went  and  found  Oliver  and  Amelia,  and  they 
came  and  sat  doAvn  near  Jonas’s  bench.  Ame¬ 
lia  sat  upon  a  wooden  block,  which  she  used 
for  a  cricket,  and  Josey  and  Oliver  upon  the 
grass.  Then  Jonas  read  and  explained  to 

15 


170 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


them  the  account  of  David’s  going  to  the 
priest  in  the  temple,  and  getting  some  bread, 
and  also  the  sword  of  Goliath,  which  was 
kept  there  as  a  curiosity. 

“  Did  he  do  right  or  wrong  ?  ”  said  Jonas, 
when  he  had  finished  the  story. 

“  Right,”  said  Josey.  “  He  got  that  sword 
away  from  Goliath,  and  he  had  a  rigjit  to  go 
and  take  it  at  any  time.” 

“Wrong,”  said  Oliver,  “for  he  told  a 
falsehood.” 

Jonas  was  going  to  talk  with  the  boys 
more  about  this  case ;  but  just  then,  Isabella, 
Amelia’s  older  sister,  came  out  and  called 
them  to  supper.  After  supper,  they  all  went 
up  into  the  pasture  after  the  cows,  walking 
along  quietly  together. 

After  they  had  found  the  cows,  and  were 
slowly  returning  behind  them,  Jonas  said 
that  he  read  a  remarkable  verse  in  the  Bible 
that  day. 

“  What  was  it  ?  ”  said  Josey. 

“  Why,  it  was  this,”  replied  Jonas  —  “Not 
a  sparrow  falleth  to  the  ground  without  his 
knowledge.” 

“  I  don’t  see  any  thing  very  remarkable  in 
that,”  said  Josey. 


THE  GRAY  SQUIRREL. 


171 


“  Only,”  replied  Jonas,  “  I  did  not  know, 
if  he  watches  all  the  sparrows,  whether  he 
would  like  to  have  you  break  and  mangle  that 
poor  squirrel’s  legs  in  the  steel  trap.” 

“  But  I  hav’n’t  got  any  box  trap,”  said 
Josey,  “  and  so  I  have  to  use  the  steel  one. 
If  you’ll  make  me  a  box  trap,  I’ll  catch  him 
in  that.” 

“  What  are  you  going  to  do  with  him 
when  you  catch  him  ?  ” 

“  O,  I’m  going  to  tame  him,”  said  Josey. 

“  Well,”  said  Jonas,  “  I  know  a  way  to 
catch  him  better  than  to  set  a  box  trap.” 

“  What  is  it  ?  ”  said  Josey. 

“  I’ll  help  you  about  it,  if  you’ll  let  me 
direct  the  whole  plan.” 

“  Well,”  said  Josey. 

“  It  will  take  some  time,”  said  Jonas. 

“Well,”  said  Josey;  “when  will  you 
do  it?” 

“We  will  begin  to-morrow  morning,”  said 
Jonas. 

Josey  was  very  eager,  the  next  morning,  to 
know  what  was  the  first  thing  to  do  to  catch 
the  squirrel.  Joaas  told  him  to  go  and  get 


172  JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 

some  crumbs  of  bread,  and  carry  them  down 
to  the  squirrel’s  hole. 

“  If  you  happen  to  see  the  squirrel,”  said 
he,  “  toss  down  some  of  the  little  crumbs  of 
bread  before  him  as  gently  as  possible.” 

Josey  went  according  to  these  directions. 
He  did  not,  however,  see  the  squirrel.  He  re¬ 
mained  there  watching  for  some  time ;  at  last, 
he  left  the  crumbs  of  bread  near  the  mouth 
of  his  hole,  and  sauntered  along  slowly  home. 

That  day  Jonas  and  Oliver  went  to  work 
in  the  cornfield,  to  get  in  the  com,  which 
had  become  ripe  enough  to  be  gathered. 
Josey  found  them  at  work  when  he  went 
back  from  the  squirrel’s  hole.  He  remained 
and  worked  with  them  for  a  time,  and,  after 
about  two  hours,  he  went  down  again  to  see 
if  his  crumbs  of  bread  were  gone.  He  found 
that  they  had  disappeared  entirely. 

He  went  back  greatly  delighted,  and  asked 
Jonas  what  he  should  do  next. 

“  After  dinner,”  said  Jonas,  u  bring  down 
some  more,  and  put  in  the  same  place.” 

Josey  did  so.  The  next  morning,  too,  he 
went  again.  He  climbed  over  the  stile,  and 
was  walking,  with  a  careless  air,  down  the 


THE  G  HAY  SQUIRREL. 


173 


pathway  ;  but  when  he  drew  near  to  the  great 
log,  his  attention  was  suddenly  arrested  at 
hearing  a  loud  and  long-continued  chirup. 
He  looked  up,  and  saw  the  squirrel,  seated 
upon  the  end  of  his  log,  singing  him  a  song. 

Josey  approached  very  carefully.  The 
squirrel  leaped  off  the  log,  and  ran  to  the 
mouth  of  his  hole,  and  then  turned  round, 
and  began  to  look  back  at  Josey. 

Josey  broke  off  some  little  pieces  from  the 
crust  of  bread,  which  he  was  holding  in  his 
hand,  and  gently  tossed  them  down  towards 
the  squirrel.  Bunny  was  very  timid  and 
suspicious ;  but  presently  he  crept  up  near  to 
one  of  them,  and  picked  it  up. 

“Bunny,  Bunny,  Bunny,”  said  Josey, 
throwing  down  some  more  pieces  of  bread. 

The  squirrel  picked  up  one  or  two  more 
of  the  crumbs,  and  then  ran  suddenly  down 
into  the  hole,  and  disappeared. 

“Bunny,  Bunny,  Bunny,”  said  Josey; 
“come  out  again,  Bunny,  and  get  some  more 
bread.” 

But  Bunny  would  not  come.  Josey 
watched  his  hole  for  some  time,  and  then 
he  went  away  and  reported  the  facts  to 
Jonas. 


15* 


174  JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 

Jonas  said  that  the  plan  was  working  very 
well.  And  he  told  Josey  to  go  again  every 
day,  and  feed  him  just  as  before.  “  By  and 
by,55  said  Jonas,  “you’ll  get  him  so  that  you 
can  call  him  out  of  his  hole.” 

“Yes,”  said  Josey,  with  a  look  of  great 
pleasure ;  “  and  then,  you  see,  I’ll  stand  all 
ready,  and  when  he  comes  out,  I’ll  grab  him.” 

“  No,  indeed,”  said  Jonas,  “  no  grabbing 
him.  Do  you  be  sure  and  not  make  the  least 
effort  to  catch  him,  till  1  give  you  leave.” 

Josey  promised  that  he  would  not.  So  he 
went,  day  after  day,  to  feed  his  squirrel.  He 
got  so,  at  last,  that,  whenever  the  squirrel  was 
in  his  hole,  he  would  always  come  out  when 
Josey  called,  and  come  up  quite  close  to  Jo- 
sey’s  hands  to  feed,  as  he  stooped  down  to 
drop  the  small  pieces  of  bread  upon  the 
ground.  At  last,  Josey  got  him  so  that  he 
would  feed  out  of  his  hand ;  and  he  told 
Jonas  that  he  could  catch  him  just  as  well 
as  not. 

“No,”  said  Jonas,  “you  must  not  catch 
him  :  but  you  may  put  your  hand  on  his  head 
a  little,  and  stroke  it  down.” 

Josey  tried  to  do  this,  but  it  frightened  the 
squirrel  away.  He  seemed  to  be  willing  to 


THE  GRAY  SQUIRREL. 


1 75 


feed  out  of  Josey’s  hand,  but  he  did  not 
want  to  be  touched. 

Josey  was  very  strongly  tempted  to  seize 
him  suddenly ;  but  he  remembered  Jonas’s 
prohibition,  and  so  he  refrained,  and  only  at¬ 
tempted  gently  to  put  his  hand  upon  his 
head.  When  he  found,  however,  that  the 
squirrel  darted  away,  he  was  almost  sorry 
that  he  had  not  seized  him. 

“  I  could  have  caught  him,”  he  said  to  Jo¬ 
nas,  when  he  returned,  “just  as  well  as  not.” 

“  I  am  very  glad  you  didn’t,”  said  Jonas. 

“  Why  ?  ”  said  Josey. 

“  Why,  perhaps  he  would  have  bitten  you, 
and  struggled  to  get  free  ;  and  then  perhaps 
you  would  have  torn  off  half  of  his  tail. 
Besides,  he  would  have  been  so  frightened, 
that  probably  you  couldn’t  have  got  him  near 
you  again.  But  now  I  suppose  that,  the  next 
time  you  go  down,  he  will  come  out  just  as 
usual.” 

Josey  went  on  several  days  more,  feeding 
the  squirrel  in  the  same  way.  At  last,  he  got 
him  so  tame,  that  he  could  pat  him  on  his 
head,  and  move  his  hand  gently  along  his 
back,  while  he  would  remain  quietly  eating 
the  crumbs  of  bread  from  his  hand.  Still 


176 


JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 


Jonas  would  not  allow  him  to  attempt  to 
catch  him  until  he  could  go  down  himself 
to  see. 

One  evening,  about  sundown,  Jonas  went 
down  with  Josey,  in  order  to  see  for  himself 
how  tame  the  squirrel  had  become.  Josey 
called  him  out,  gave  him  some  bread,  and 
patted  him,  saying,  — ~ 

“  See,  Jonas,  1  can  take  him  up  just  as 
well  as  not.  Mayn’t  I  ?  ” 

“  Yes,”  said  Jonas,  “  take  him  up  gently,  a 
very  little  way,  and  then  put  him  directly 
down  again.” 

Josey  did  so.  The  squirrel,  alarmed  at 
this  new  movement,  struggled  a  little  to  get 
free  ;  and,  as  soon  as  his  feet  touched  the 
ground  again,  he  wheeled  around,  and  ran 
away  to  his  hole. 

“  There,”  said  Josey,  “now,  if  you  had 
only  let  me  have  kept  him,  I  could  have  car¬ 
ried  him  home  as  well  as  not.” 

“No,”  said  Jonas;  “the  time  hasn’t  come 
yet.” 

The  next  time  that  Josey  was  going  down 
to  feed  his  squirrel,  he  said  to  Jonas,  “Now 
may  I  bring  him  home  ?  ” 

“No,”  said  Jonas;  “you  mustn’t  attempt 


THE  GRAY  SQUIRREL. 


177 


to  bring  him  away,  until  you  have  accus¬ 
tomed  him  to  be  quiet  in  your  hands  there. 
Then  you  may  bring  him  off  a  little  way* 
and  put  him  down,  and  let  him  run  home. 
The  next  day,  you  may  bring  him  a  little 
farther, — and  so,  by  degrees,  until  you  get 
him  up  to  the  house ;  and  then  you  may 
carry  him  in,  and  show  him  to  Isabella.’5 

All  this  was  accomplished  in  about  a  fort¬ 
night  afterwards.  Josey  brought  the  squirrel 
home  one  frosty  morning,  and  showed  him 
to  Isabella.  Bunny  looked  about  him  a  little 
wildly,  at  finding  himself  in  the  kitchen,  and 
then  he  slipped  between  Josey’s  fingers,  and 
ran  up,  and  mounted  on  his  shoulder.  Josey 
walked  off  with  him  to  show  him  to  Jonas 
and  Oliver ;  and  he  said,  — 

“  I  acknowledge,  Jonas,  that  this  is  a  better 
way  to  catch  a  squirrel,  than  it  would  be  to 
gripe  him  in  a  steel  trap.” 

Josey  then  went  and  put  the  squirrel  down 
gently  in  the  pathway,  and  let  him  run 
away  home, — while  he  himself  went  down 
to  the  pond,  to  throw  some  stones  out  upon 
the  ice,  which  had  formed  upon  it  during  the 
night,  to  see  if  it  was  strong  enough  to  bear 
him.  He  found  that  it  was  not.  The  first 


178  JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 

stone  that  he  threw  on,  went  directly 
through ;  and  the  wave  which  it  made, 
spreading  in  every  direction,  hove  up  and 
cracked  the  thin  sheet  of  ice  for  a  consider¬ 
able  distance  around. 


THE  END. 


■ 


•• 


I 


* 


«/ 


VALUABLE  SCHOOL  BOOKS, 

PUBLISHED  BY 

WILLIAM  D.  TICKNOR  &  CO,. 

Corner  of  Washington  and  School  Streets, 

Boston. 


BUMSTEAD’S  SECOND  AND  THIRD  READING 
BOOKS  IN  THE  PRIMARY  SCHOOL. 

u  These  books  are  a  part  of  a  progressive  series  of 
Primary  School  Books,  by  Mr.  J.  F.  Bumstead.  They 
appear  to  be  based  upon  the  true  principle  of  instruc¬ 
tion  —  that  of  informing  and  cultivating  the  mind, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  consulting  and  regulating  the 
natural  feelings  of  youth.”  —  Boston  Recorder. 

“  In  examining  these  excellent  publications,  we 
have  been  particularly  struck  with  the  nice  arrange¬ 
ment  and  order  of  the  lessons,  and  their  generally 
increased  adaptation  to  the  progress  of  the  learner. 
The  selections  are  of  a  character  to  interest  the  young 
mind,  in  a  manner  which  shall  prevent  the  ennui  of 
instruction  which  assails  the  budding  comprehension, 
as  well  as  the  more  mature  intellect.  The  style  in 
which  these  volumes  are  issued  is  exceedingly  at¬ 
tractive  ;  and  they  are  printed  in  a  manner  to  save  the 
eyes  of  the  reader,  a  merit  which  we  think  deserving 
of  special  mention.”  —  Boston  Transcript. 

“  But  by  far  the  best  books  which  we  have  ex¬ 
amined  are  the  concluding  numbers  of  a  series  of 
_  © 

Primary  School  Books,  prepared  by  a  member  of  this 
Board,  and  whose  experience,  taste  and  good  judg¬ 
ment,  well  qualify  him  for  the  task  he  has  so  happily 
accomplished.  They  are  intended  for  the  use  of  the 


School  Boohs 


first  and  second  classes,  and  are  a  continuation  of  the 
books  some  time  since  introduced  into  the  third  and 
fourth.  The  selections  are  of  the  most  interesting 
and  excellent  character.  There  is  a  unity  and  sim¬ 
plicity  in  the  gradations  from  simple  to  difficult  which 
is  admirable.  And  it  should  be  especially  noticed 
that  the  lessons  are  divided  in  a  proper  manner  for 
every  day  use.  There  are  no  long-drawn-out  sen¬ 
tences,  to  be  cut  up  at  discretion  or  at  random  for 
half  a  dozen  mouths,  either  of  which,  when  once  open, 
it  is  difficult  to  shut  at  just  the  proper  time,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  frequency  in  which  the  sense,  by  this 
processes  reduced  to  nonsense.  The  mechanical  ex¬ 
ecution  is  of  the  first  order,  and  we  believe  for  a  school 
book  entirely  unequalled.”  —  Report  of  the  Book  Com¬ 
mittee  of  the  Boston  Primary  Schools. 

“We  rejoice  to  see  a  complete  series  of  books  for 
Primary  schools,  made  throughout  upon  the  principles 
which  we  have  been  advocating.  #  *  *  The 

connected  reading  lessons  are  admirable.  It  would 
be  difficult  to  find  any  thing  better  adapted  to  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  interesting  little  children.  The  selections 
seem  to  be  made  according  to  the  principles  of  the 
judicious  observations  which  are  the  preface  to  the 
second  and  third  Reading  Books.” — Common  School 
Journal. 

“At  a  meeting  of  the  Primary  School  Committee 
of  the  City  of  Boston,  held  at  the  Common  Council 
Room,  Dec.  5,  1843,  it  was  Voted ,  That  “  Bumstead’s 
Second  and  Third  Reading  Books  ”  be  introduced  as 
the  reading  books  for  the  First  and  Second  Classes, 
and  the  First  Division  of  the  Third  Classes,  of  the 
Primary  Schools  of  Boston. 

Attest,  ALVAN  SIMONDS,  Sec'y.  ” 


GOOD’S  BOOK  OF  NATURE  abridged,  by  Mrs. 
Sarah  J.  Hale.  A  very  pretty  volume,  adapted  to 
the  reading  of  Children  and  Youth,  with  Questions 


Published  by  William  D.  Tichior  Co.  3 

for  the  use  of  Schools,  and  illustrations  from  original 
designs. 

“We  are  not  a  little  surprised  that  a  plan  so 
strikingly  judicious  has  not  been  carried  into  ex¬ 
ecution  before,  and  we  commend  the  work  to  our 
young  friends,  assured  that  it  will  afford  instruction 
of  the  most  valuable  and  enduring  character.” ; — 
Evening  Gazette. 

“  This  is  a  valuable  abridgment  of  an  excellent 
work,  well  adapted  to  children  and  youth.  Among 
the  thousand  books  written  for  children,  we  know 
of  none  better  than  this.”  —  Annals  of  Education. 

“  In  this  little  book  are  condensed  the  most  inter¬ 
esting  and  material  points  of  information,  in  a  plain 
and  familiar  style,  which  cannot  but  be  attractive 
and  useful.  One  such  book  is  worth  a  thousand 
tracts  and  tales,  because  it  inspires  thoughts  and 
excites  eager  thirst  for  true  knowledge  in  the  youth¬ 
ful  mind.”  —  Lowell  Journal. 

“Good’s  Book  of  Nature  abridged,  for  schools 
and  families,  meets  with  uncommon  favor  from  the 
whole  newspaper  press.  And  in  fact  it  is  worthy 
of  unqualified  praise.  It  is  printed  in  a  very  neat 
and  substantial  manner,  and  sold  at  a  very  moder¬ 
ate  price.”  —  American. Traveller. 

SCENES  OF  AMERICAN  WEALTH  AND  IN¬ 
DUSTRY,  in  Produce,  Manufactures,  Trade,  the 
Fisheries,  &c.,  &c.  For  the  Instruction  and  Amuse¬ 
ment  of  Children  and  Youth,  with  Engravings. 

“It  is  compiled  with  judgment  and  care,  and  is  a 
most  useful  and  entertaining  book.”  —  Mercantile 
Journal. 

“  It  blends  instruction  and  amusement  in  a  man¬ 
ner  that  renders  it  peculiarly  fitted  for  Juvenile  read¬ 
ers,  and  engrafts  knowledge  on  the  mind  without 
the  aid  of  tuition.  We  would  recommend  to  those 
parents  who  have  the  intelligence  to  give  their  chil¬ 
dren  books  instead  of  toys,  to  purchase  one  of 
these  little  volumes,  which  will  afford  them  a  knowl- 


4 


School  Books 


edge  of  America,  its  sources  of  wealth,  and  the 
means  by  which  honest  industry  obtains  it.” —  Ports¬ 
mouth  (.V.  H.)  Journal . 


SERIES  OF  FRENCH  READING  BOOKS,  FOR  YOUNG 

PEOPLE, 

NO.  1.  EASY  LESSONS  FOR  LEARNING 
FRENCH.  Selected  from  the  most  approved  Au¬ 
thors.  —  The  purpose  of  the  present  work,  is  to  fur¬ 
nish  stories  and  other  pleasant  exercises  for  trans-* 
lating  from  the  French  into  the  English,  adapted  to 
beginners  in  the  study  of  the  language  who  are  yet 
children.  25  cts. 

NO.  2.  TALES  IN  FRENCH,  FOR  YOUNG 
PERSONS,  by  Madame  Guizot, -—The  stories  in 
this  volume  are  taken  from  the  works,  entitled  Une 
Famille  and  Les  Enfans,  and  it  is  believed  they 
will  not  suffer  from  a  comparison  with  the  similar 
works  of  Miss  Edgeworth,  whose  spirit  they  breathe, 
and  whose  merit  they  at  least  equal  in  the  dramat* 
ic  interest  with  which  they  inculcate  the  most  im¬ 
portant  principles  in  the  formation  of  character. 

•  25  cts. 

NO.  3.  CAROLINE  OU  L’  EFFET  D’  UN  MAL¬ 
HEUR,  a  Tale  for  Young  Persons,  by  Madame 
Guizot,  — -  This  book  consists  of  a  single  story,  and 
is  taken  from  the  second  volume  of  Une  Famille , 
ouvrage  a  l’Usage  de  la  Lermeuse.  Like  the  other 
stories  of  Madame  Guizot,  it  is  beautifully  written, 
and  may  be  read  with  pleasure,  not  only  by  the 
young,  for  whom  it  was  originally  intended,  but  by 
persons  of  all  ages,  and  especially  those  to  whom 
the  immediate  nurturing  of  the  young  is  entrusted. 

25  cts. 


LITTLE  .  STORIES  FOR  LITTLE  FOLKS.— 
With  12  beautiful  steel  engravings.  The  simple 


Published  by  William  D.  Ticlcnor  Sp  Co.  & 

and  instructive  “ Little  Stories”  contained  in  this 
volume  are  translated  from  the  German.  The' 
author  is  a  lady  who  appears  to  love  children,  and 
who  has  written  much  for  their  entertainment. 

75  cts. 

MOTHER’S  LESSONS,  FOR  LITTLE  GIRLS 
AND  BOYS.  By  a  Lady  of  Boston.  With  8 
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that  has  long  been  wanted  to  instruct  and  amuse 
little  boys  and  girls.  It  contains  forty-four  pleasant 
little  stories,  and  the  engravings  are  the  best  of  the 
kind  we  have  yet  seen.”  62  cts,- 

OLYMPIC  GAMES  — A  GIFT  FOR  THE  HOLI¬ 
DAYS.  “This  is  a  highly  useful  and  instructive 
little  book,  for  children  from  seven  to-  ten  or  twelve 
years  of  age.  Fifty  cents  could  hardly  be  appro¬ 
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50  cts, 

IT  IS  ALL  FOR  THE  BEST :  or,  Clarke  the 
Baker.  A  Tale  for  Youth,  ISmo.  cloth.  37  1-2  c. 

BIRDS  AND  FLOWERS,  and  other  country  things,, 
by  Mary  Howitt,  2d  Edition,  with  engravings.  Ex¬ 
tract  from  the  preface. -— This  Volume  has  beery 
written  literally  among  Birds  and  Flowers,  and  has 
been  my  pleasant  occupation  through  the  last  sum¬ 
mer  months ;  and  now'  it  is  completed  my  earnest 
wish  is,  that  it  may  convey  to  many  a  heart  a  relish 
for  the  enjoyment  of  quiet,  country  pleasure' ;  a  love 
for  every  living  creature,  and  that  strong  sympathy 
which  must  grow  in  every  pure  heart  for  the  great 
human  family.  50  cts. 

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lished. 

THE  SCENERY-SHOW-ER,  with  word  paintings 
of  the  beautiful,  the  picturesque  and  the  grandin 


6 


Juvenile  Books 


nature;  by  Warren  Burton,  author  of  “The  Dis¬ 
trict  School  as  it  was,”  &c.,  &c.  —  This  little  work 
has  received  the  highest  praise  from  the  most  res¬ 
pectable  sources,  and  bids  fair  to  become  one  of 
the  most  popular  favorites  with  all  classes  of  read¬ 
ers.  It  is  written  in  a  familiar  style,  and  is  pub¬ 
lished  at  so  cheap  a  price  as  to  be  within  the  means 
of  all  who  have  taste  and  observation  for  the  ivorks 
of  nature.  38  cents. 


THE  JONAS  SERIES,  BY  JACOB  ABBOTT,  AUTHOR 
OF  THE  ROLLO  BOOKS. 

JONAS’S  STORIES,  related  to  Rollo  and  Lucy. 

JONAS  A  JUDGE,  or  Law  among  the  Boys. 
JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  SUMMER. 

JONAS  ON  A  FARM  IN  WINTER. 

These  little  works  are  neatly  bound  in  cloth,  and 
illustrated  with  numerous  wood  cuts.  From  the 
many  favorable  opinions  already  expressed  of  this 
entertaining  and  instructive  series,  and  of  their  au¬ 
thor,  the  following  are  selected. 

“  Jonas's  Stories.  —  The  author  of  the  Rollo 
Books  here  displays  his  usual  skill  in  entertaining 
and  interesting  the  young.  He  has  a  remarkable 
tact  at  presenting  knowledge  in  a  lively  manner, 
well  calculated  to  secure  the  attention  of  children. 
We  doubt  not  our  young  friends  will  read  the  Sto¬ 
ries  of  Jonas  with  as  much  zest  as  Rollo  and  Lucy 
listened  to  them.” —  Christian  Watchman. 

“  Jonas's  Stoj'ies. — Those  who  are  already  ac¬ 
quainted  with  the  works  of  the  same  class,  by  the 
same  author,  will  need  no  further  recommendation 
of  these  stories.  They  are  well  adapted  to  engage 
the  attention  of  youtul  readers.” —  Daily  Adv. 


Published  by  William  D.  Ticknor  $$•  Co.  7 

“  Jonas  a  Judge.  —  This  is  another  of  that  excel¬ 
lent  series  of  books  by  Mr.  Abbott,  which  are  so 
popular  among-  the  younger  classes  of  the  commu¬ 
nity.  It  is  full  of  instruction  and  entertainment.” 
Mercantile  Journal. 

“  Jonas  a  Judge.  —  This  neat  little  volume  is 
made  up  of  twelve  tales,  in  which  Jonas  lays  down 
general  principles  in  settling  the  disputes  which 
arise  between  Rollo  and  his  companions,  which  are 
equally  applicable  to  cases  of  contention  occurring 
among  other  boys.” —  Evening  Transcript. 

“  Jonas  a  Judge.  —  This  book  is  one  of  law  re¬ 
ports,  showing  how  cases  are  argued  and  determin¬ 
ed  among  boys  who  happen  to  differ  about  the  own¬ 
ership  of  a  whip,  or  a  kite,  or  some  equally  import¬ 
ant  piece  of  property,  and  every  boy  who  is  desir¬ 
ous  to  know  how  to  settle  such  questions  according 
to  law  and  practice,  should  immediately  study  it.” — 
Christian  JVatchman. 

“  Jonas  on  a  Farm.  —  Jonas  is  a  sterling  charac¬ 
ter,  and  the  young  people  are  never  tired  of  reading 
his  exploits.  Jonas  on  a  Farm  is  not  the  least  in¬ 
teresting  of  this  admirable  series.” —  Daily  Jldv. 

“  Jonas  on  a  Farm.  —  We  welcome  another  of 
those  capital  children’s  books  by  Jacob  Abbott, — 
than  whom  there  is  no  better  writer  in  our  country 
for  youth.  Jonas  on  a  Farm  in  Summer  and  in 
Winter,  are  excellent  little  works,  and  calculated 
to  produce  much  benefit  from  perusal.” — New  York 
Paper. 

“  These  works  are  designed  not  merely  to  inter¬ 
est  and  amuse  the  juvenile  reader,  but  to  give  him 
instruction,  by  exemplifying  the  principles  of  hon¬ 
est  integrity  and  plain  practical  good  sense,  in  their 
application  to  the  ordinary  circumstances  of  child¬ 
hood.” —  Preface  to  Jonas  on  a  Farm. 


3 


Juvenile  BooJcs 


LAMBERT  LILLY’S  HISTORIES. 

THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVO¬ 
LUTION.  Illustrated  by  Tales,  Sketches  and 
Anecdotes,  with  numerous  Engravings.  37  I  -2  cts„ 
In  this  little  work,  the  Author  has  attempted  to  re¬ 
late  the  story  of  our  glorious  Revolution  in  a  sim¬ 
ple  manner,  so  that  it  may  be  interesting  and  in¬ 
structive  to  children  and  youth.  He  has  not  adopt¬ 
ed  a  very  regular  method  of  treating  the  subject, 
but  has  endeavored  to  keep  alive  the  interest  of  the 
reader  by  a  variety  of  tales,  anecdotes  and  sketch¬ 
es,  illustrative  of  the  events  with  which  they  are 
connected. 

THE  HISTORY  OF  NEW  ENGLAND,  giving 
an  account  of  the  Puritans,  early  history  of  the  set¬ 
tlement  of  Plymouth,  Boston,  Salem,  etc. ;  also  an 
account  of  the  Indians,  their  mode  of  Life,  Wars, 
Massacres,  etc.  37  1-2  cents.  —  This  is  a  second 
volume  of  the  series,  designed  to  afford  a  substitute 
for  works  of  fiction,  generally  put  into  the  hands  of 
children. 

THE  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  SOUTH¬ 
ERN  STATES,  Virginia,  North  and  South  Caro¬ 
lina,  and  Georgia,  illustrated  by  Tales,  Anecdotes, 
and  Adventures.  37  1-2  cents.  —  This  volume  is 
also  abundantly  supplied  with  engravings,  and  gives 
the  early  voyages  along  the  coast  of  the  Southern 
States,  an  account  of  Sir  Francis  Drake,  Sir  Wal¬ 
ter  Raleigh,  the  settlement  of  Jamestown,  Captain 
Smith,  story  of  Pocahontas,  massacre  of  the  whites, 
the  Indian  war  of  1715,  the  Revolution  of  1719, 
etc.,  etc. 

THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  WESTERN  STATES, 
with  numerous  Engravings.  37  1-2  cents. — Con¬ 
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Published  by  William  1).  Tiefenor  fy  Co.  9 

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37  12  cents. — This  work  contains  an  account  of 
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EARLY  IMPRESSIONS.  A  very  useful  and  en¬ 
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LESSONS  FOR  CHILDREN,  by  Mrs.  Barbaukl. 
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VOYAGES  AND  ADVENTURES  OF  JACK 
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COPLAS  DE  DON  JORGE  MANRIQTJE,  trans¬ 
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MISCELLANEOUS  BOOKS. 

4  i 

ANNALS  OF  EDUCATION,  vols.  3  and  4. 

BLACKWOOD’S  aivb  LONDON  NEW  MONTH¬ 
LY  MAGAZINES,  1833,  3834,  6  vols. 

COMBE  ON  THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  MAN, 
from  the  last  London  Edition,  with  an  additional 
chapter,  by  J.  A.  Warne,  12mo.  cloth.  [The  most 
complete  edition  published.]  83.ete. 


Published  by  William  D.  Tichnor  Co.  II 

CIIANNING  (W.  E.)  ON  THE  ELEVATION  OF 
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CONFESSIONS  OF  AN  ENGLISH  OPIUM 
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HISTORY  OF  KING’S  CHAPEL,  BOSTON, 
I2mo.  doth.  62  cts. 

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HINTS  ON  ETIQUETTE,  by  C.  W.  Day,  cloth, 

50  cts. 

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1842,  1843,  each  50  cts, 

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12 


Miscellaneous  Books, 


ALGER’S  PHILLIPS’S  MINERALOGY.  An  Ele¬ 
mentary  Treatise  on  Mineralogy,  comprising  an  In¬ 
troduction  to  the  Science,  by  William  Phillips,  5th 
Edition,  from  the  4th  London  Edition,  by  Robert  Al¬ 
lan  ;  containing  the  Latest  Discoveries  in  American 
and  Foreign  Mineralogy,  with  numerous  Additions 
by  Francis  Alger,  Member  of  the  American  Academy 
of  Arts  and  Sciences,  of  the  Boston  Natural  History 
Society,  etc,,  1  volume,  comprising  600  Wood  cuts. 

3.00 

This  work  has  been  approved  by  Professor  Web¬ 
ster,  and  adopted  by  him  as  a  text-book  in  Harvard 
College  ;  the  splendid  cabinet  in  that  Institution  hav¬ 
ing  recently  been  re-arranged  by  him,  in  accordance 
with  the  same  system. 

NEW  WORK  ON  THE  USE  OF  THE  BLOW¬ 
PIPE  IN  CHEMISTRY  AND  MINERALOGY,, 
by  J.  J.  Berzelius.  ranslated  from  the  fourth  en¬ 
larged  and  corrected  edition,  by  J.  D.  Whitney — 

1.50 

H  The  constantly  increasing  interest  which  is  felt 
in  the  sciences  of  chemistry  and  mineralogy  in  this 
country,  as  well  as  the  rapid  development  of  our 
mineral  resources,  seems  to  render  it  expedient  that 
a  treatise  on  the  use  of  that  indispensable  instrument, 
the  blow-pipe,  should  be  rendered  accessible  to  the 
chemists,  mineralogists  and  miners  of  this  country. 
The  edition  of  the  standard  work  on  the  blow-pipe, 
so  recently  published  by  Berzelius,  seems  to  contain 
all  that  could  be  wished  for  on  this  subject,  and  the 
translator  presumes,  that,  if  the  translation  shall 
prove  to  have  been  properly  executed,  he  will  have 
rendered  an  acceptable  service  to  science.” — Trans¬ 
lator's  Preface. 

LIEUTENANT  WRIGHT’S  PRACTICAL  TREA¬ 
TISE  ON  MORTARS;  with  an  Account  of  the 
Processes  employed  at  the  Public  Works  in  Boston 
Harbor,  1  vol.  12mo  illustrated  with  plates.  1.25 

This  work  is  published  at  the  request  of  the  Chief 
Engineer  of  the  United  States  Corps,  and  embraces 
every  thing  of  consequence  connected  with  the  sub¬ 
ject. 


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RARE  BOOK 
COLLECTION 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  OF 
NORTH  CAROLINA 
AT 

CHAPEL  HILL 

Ticknor 

PS1000 

,A8 

J61 

1845 


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